Hardik not included in Baroda squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Hardik Pandya's absence from competitive cricket has stretched into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 tournament. When Baroda named their squad for the tournament, Hardik, who last played on May 24 during an IPL 2026 match for Mumbai Indians, wasn't part of the line-up of 15. Hardik's brother Krunal will lead the side.

Hardik had been named in India A's one-day squad for the series at home against Australia A in October but was withdrawn from the squad after a fresh shin injury scuttled his comeback plans. At the time, Cricinfo had learned that Hardik was not pain-free while bowling. He has spent a large chunk of his time since the IPL at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, initially for back spasms suffered during the IPL and then a leg strain.

His last international appearance was in the T20I series against New Zealand at home just prior to the IPL.

India, who are currently engaged in an ODI series against New Zealand, next play T20Is in December, at home against Sri Lanka.

With the ODI World Cup coming up next year, India would have wanted to have their premier short-format allrounder in the mix as soon as possible in the build-up, but Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, has gone on record saying that while Hardik, as well as Jasprit Bumrah, were "extremely important", there was no question of taking them to the World Cup "half-cooked".

The Baroda squad has, apart from Krunal, prominent players like Jitesh Sharma, Deepak Hooda and Rasikh Salam. They start their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign against Chandigarh in Mumbai on November 14.