There is positive news surrounding Hardik Pandya’s comeback. The Baroda team’s head coach has confirmed that the star all-rounder is expected to feature in most of the group-stage matches of 2025-2026 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Hardik had suffered an injury during Asia Cup 2025, which ruled him out of the final against Pakistan.
The injury occurred in the last Super Four match against Sri Lanka, where Hardik sustained a quadriceps issue that forced him to miss the title clash against Pakistan. Since then, he has been away from competitive cricket.
When will Hardik Pandya return?
Reports suggest that Baroda head coach Mukund Parmar has officially stated that Hardik will be available for the majority of the team’s group matches in this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The team is led by his brother, Krunal Pandya.
The tournament begins on November 26, with Baroda opening their campaign against Bengal. Their second match is scheduled for Friday against Puducherry. Hardik is expected to return either in the opening match or, more likely, in the second fixture.
This update comes as a major boost for Team India ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, set to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February-March. The complete tournament schedule will be officially released today at 6:30 PM.
Hardik Pandya’s Cricket Journey
Hardik has represented India across all three formats. In 11 Test matches, he has accumulated 532 runs and picked up 17 wickets. In white-ball cricket, he has scored 1904 runs in 94 ODIs and 1860 runs in 120 T20Is, along with 98 wickets across the two formats combined.
At the IPL level, Hardik will once again lead Mumbai Indians in the 2026 season, having captained them in the previous edition as well. Notably, he guided Gujarat Titans to an IPL title during his stint with them. In his IPL career so far, he has played 152 matches, scoring 2749 runs and taking 78 wickets.