Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb7: All rounder Hardik Pandya, will miss the Ranji Trophy, which begins on February 10, in order to focus on his India comeback in white-ball cricket.
On Monday, Kedar Devdhar was selected captain of the Baroda team. The Baroda Cricket Association released a 20-member squad ahead of the first leg of the event, with Vishnu Solanki selected as Devdhar’s deputy. The squad list, however, it does not include Hardik.
Hardik has been out of action since last year’s T20 World Cup, leaving himself unavailable for national selection owing to a back ailment and further rehabilitation.
The 28-year-old, who was chastised for not bowling during India’s poor T20 World Cup performance, hasn’t played red ball cricket since December 2018 and has frequently stated that ailments have hampered his chances in the game’s longest format.
Hardik is scheduled to return to competitive cricket in the Indian Premier League, where he will lead the CVC-owned Ahmedabad franchise for the first time as a full-time captain.
Last week in an interview, BCCI President Saurav Ganguly had said he expected to see the all-rounder play in the Ranji Trophy.
“Hardik was injured and a break was given to him to completely recover, so that he can continue to serve Indian cricket for a long period of time. I believe I will see him play some Ranji Trophy to start with. I expect him to bowl a lot more overs and his body will get stronger,” said Ganguly.
Interestingly Krunal Pandya, Hardik’s brother, has also been chosen in the team.
The event, which was postponed due to a third wave of illnesses across the country, was set to begin on January 13 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
It will now be held in two phases, with the first starting on Thursday and lasting until March 15 at various locations across the country.
After a break for the IPL, the top domestic event returns from May 30 to June 26.
Baroda Squad: Kedar Dhevdhar, Vishnu Solanki, Pratyush Kumar, Shivalik Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Abhimanyusingh Rajput, Dhruv Patel, Mitesh Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Babasafikhan Pathan (wk), Atit Sheth, Bhargav Bhatt, Parth Kohli, Shashwat Rawat, Soyeb Sopariya, Kartik Kakade, Gurjindersingh Mann, Jyotsnil Singh, Ninad Rathwa, Akshay More.
