India cricket team all-rounder is gearing up for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that will commence from November 23. The former India T20I captain linked up with the rest of Baroda side, who will be led by his brother Krunal Pandya. Hardik last played a T20I for India in the recently concluded series against South Africa. His all-round performance saw him reclaim the number one T20I all-rounder ranking for the second time in his career.
Hardik Pandya joins Baroda for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
India are currently playing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia and aren’t scheduled to play any T20Is for a while. This gives Hardik Pandya enough time to warm up, using Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as a platform, for Champions Trophy as well as IPL 2025. Baroda will take on Gujarat in the tournament opener on Saturday.
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The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will see many veterans in fray, including the likes of Sanju Samson Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and more in fray. Hardik Pandya will be making his return to the tournament for the first time in 8 years. Baroda finished runners-up last season under Krunal Pandya‘s leadership, losing to Punjab by 20 runs.
Hardik last played SMAT in January 2016, when Baroda took on Uttar Pradesh in the final. Until that point, Hardik was an uncapped player. That didn’t take long, though, as in less than a week, he made his T20I debut for India in Australia. The all-rounder hasn’t played in SMAT since and last represented Baroda in 2018 during the Ranji Trophy season.
