After former skipper Rohit Sharma, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya became the second high-profile cricketer to comply with the BCCI's strict directive to play domestic cricket. After a long break, Hardik awaits his return to competitive cricket, scheduled later this month. He will be playing for his state side, Baroda, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, as reported by the Times of India.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma reportedly expressed his desire to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy. BCCI has long been stressing its diktat of 'play domestic to play for India'. But the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) hasn't received any official communication from Sharma in this regard. Meanwhile, there is no update about Virat Kohli's next move yet. Currently, he is residing with his family in London.
Hardik is undergoing an intensive rehabilitation program at the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. As is known, the all-rounder is about to gain his full match fitness. If the progress goes this way only, then the 32-year-old might be seen playing for Baroda in the opening game itself, with the tournament set to begin on November 26th in Hyderabad. Even if it gets delayed a bit, Hardik will surely be available in the second fixture of Baroda.
Following a left quadricep injury during India's match against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, Hardik has been out of action, missing the Australia series too. He couldn't play in the final against Pakistan in the tournament. Since the last few weeks, he has been training intensively in Bengaluru, working on conditioning and strength to regain complete fitness.
As soon as he receives his Return to Play (RTP) clearance from the CoE, he will straight away head to Hyderabad to join the Baroda squad. The selectors and team management want him to get an ample amount of competitive match time so that he can be a part of India's squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa.
The three-match ODI series is scheduled to take place in Ranchi, Raipur, and Vishakhapatnam on November 30, December 3, and December 6. It will be followed by a five-match T20 series beginning from December 9 in Cuttack.
If it all goes as expected, Hardik will feature in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before he takes on international games in India's jersey after nearly three months.