Image Credit- AP
For the first time since being sidelined midway
through the 2023 ODI World Cup due to an ankle injury, Hardik Pandya has
returned to play competitive cricket.
Pandya opened the bowling on Monday afternoon in the DY Patil T20 Cup in Navi
Mumbai for Reliance 1, taking 2 for 22 in his three overs. Then, batting at No.
10, he and Piyush Chawla ended a frantic chase. While Reliance 1 defeated
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited by two wickets, Pandya remained undefeated
on three off four balls.
Over the previous two months, Pandya has been working
his way back to full fitness. Pandya and Rishabh Pant participated in three
practice Twenty20 matches last week in Alur, organised by the NCA, after Pandya
resumed training in Baroda three weeks ago after undergoing rehabilitation.
After participating in all those matches as a batsman and bowler, Pandya
received approval from the NCA to play in the DY Patil tournament.
Before he reports to the Mumbai Indians’ pre-season camp in advance of the
March 22 start of the 2024 Indian Premier League, Pandya will return to the NCA
in early March for a final fitness evaluation.
during a hectic period of negotiations during the
World Cup that resulted in the largest player swap in IPL history, Pandya will
take over as captain of Mumbai from Rohit Sharma.
The DY Patil event will also have Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar
Yadav in addition to Pandya.
While Suryakumar is returning to action after undergoing sports hernia surgery
in Germany in January, questions have been made over Kishan and Iyer’s
exclusion from the Ranji Trophy, even though the BCCI has instructed contractual
players to focus on local cricket rather than simply the IPL.
Kishan requested to be removed from the South African
Test team, citing personal reasons, after his final India match took place in
December. Since then, he hasn’t appeared in any red-ball matches. Prior to the
IPL season, Kishan was supposedly training in Baroda with Pandya, his Mumbai
captain, earlier this month.
Iyer’s case is also peculiar. Iyer did not play in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy
quarterfinal match against Baroda because to back spasms, an MCA selector
revealed. Iyer was pulled out of India’s team after their performance in the
first two Test matches against England was 27, 29, 35, and 13.