Hardik Pandya is expected to turn out for Baroda this week in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 competition. If he takes the field against Punjab on 2 December and Gujarat two days later, it will be his first competitive appearance since 26 September, when a left quadriceps strain forced him off during India’s Asia Cup fixture against Sri Lanka.
Baroda officials confirmed on Monday that the all-rounder has been registered for the remainder of the group stage. National selector Pragyan Ojha, himself a former Baroda player, is due to watch both matches, the idea being to gauge whether Pandya is ready for India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa later this month.
Since mid-October, the 32-year-old has been working through a rehabilitation block at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Staff there say the programme – a mix of strength work, bowling loads and running drills – has gone to plan, interrupted only by a short Diwali break. “The quad has settled,” one support-team member noted last week, “now it’s about volume.”
Selectors are likely to announce the South Africa squad within the next few days. Should Pandya come through the SMAT fixtures unscathed, he could fly straight to the national camp; if he needs more cricket, Baroda’s management have left the door open for him to play additional group matches.
Baroda have had a patchy SMAT so far, losing to Bengal by six wickets and Puducherry by 17 runs before recovering to beat Himachal Pradesh. A fit Pandya would add both ballast and new-ball bite, though head coach Davang Desai was keen to lower expectations. “He’s been out for two months – nobody’s asking for miracles. If he bowls his four overs and bats a bit, that’s plenty.”
The side’s young captain Vishnu Solanki echoed that sentiment. “Hardik bhai just being around lifts everyone. We know what he brings, but there’s no pressure on him to do everything.”
For India, the calculation is straightforward: a fully functioning Pandya balances the XI. Yet the medical team has been cautious since his back surgery in 2019 and, more recently, the quadriceps niggle that ruled him out of the T20 World Cup. Any hint of discomfort and the selectors may hold him back for the home Tests that follow.
Either way, the next 72 hours should clarify his immediate future. For now, the simple fact he is on a team-sheet again feels like progress.
