Hardik’s return date is fixed, many big players will take the field

Returning from injury, Hardik Pandya will be the center of attention in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament starting on Wednesday, while talented domestic cricketers will try to garner attention ahead of the IPL auction. Hardik has not played competitive cricket since suffering an injury during the Asia Cup in September.

Hardik will only play in the T20 format before the T20 World Cup in India in February-March and the tournament is his only chance to prove his fitness ahead of the T20 series against South Africa starting on December 9. These tournaments will be played in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Lucknow. Mumbai, captained by Shardul Thakur, will enter as the defending champions.

Hardik will return to the field
Baroda will play seven group matches till December 8, and head coach Mukund Parmar expects Pandya to play in most of the matches. “He has not joined the team yet, but we expect him to play most of the matches,” Parmar said. His presence will boost the morale of the team. Captain Suryakumar Yadav will also play most of the group matches for Mumbai. Shivam Dubey is also part of the Mumbai squad, while spinner Varun Chakraborty has been named the captain of Tamil Nadu, who will play in the group stage. Kerala captain Sanju Samson will also feature in the group stage.

One opportunity after another
Prithvi Shaw, once considered the future star of Indian cricket, was not bought by any IPL team in last year’s auction. He no longer plays domestic cricket for Mumbai, but for Maharashtra. He too will be keen to stake a comeback claim with a strong performance. Nitish Rana will captain Delhi. Assam captain Ryan Parag and Madhya Pradesh’s Venkatesh Iyer will also look to improve. Iyer was released by Kolkata Knight Riders after being bought for ₹23.75 crore.