In a major development, new details of Hardik Pandya’s comeback to the Indian setup have emerged. It is understood that the NCA is not keen on rushing the star all-rounder back and wants to assess how his body handles the workload. He will likely not be picked for the ODI series against South Africa. Instead, Pandya will be assessed in the three Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games that he will play for Baroda. He will be part of the Baroda vs Hyderabad SMAT fixture later this month. After evaluating how Pandya manages the workload of the three SMAT games, he will be brought back into the T20I setup.
We last saw the star all-rounder in India’s final group-stage match against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, where he sustained a quadriceps injury and had to go off the field. He missed the final of the tournament and subsequently underwent rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bangalore. He was then ruled out of the entire white-ball tour of Australia, which comprised three ODIs and five T20Is.
Now, sources close to the development have confirmed that Pandya is finally ready to return. The all-rounder is set to feature in India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa starting 9 December. However, his long-anticipated re-entry into the ODI setup will take a little longer.
Pandya’s comeback comes after nearly two months on the sidelines. In the meantime, Shivam Dube stepped up. But with a home World Cup on the horizon, Pandya’s return gives India exactly what they’ve been missing.