Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has pulled out of the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2022 as he continues to recover on his fitness and to keep his focus on only white-ball cricket currently.
The Baroda Cricket Association announced a 20-member squad ahead of the first phase of the Ranji Trophy, starting February 10, but Hardik’s name was missing from the squad. So, with Hardik Pandya skipping the tournament, Kedar Devdhar will lead Baroda.
Hardik last played a professional game during the T20 World Cup and has been working hard to regain full fitness so that he is able to contribute with the ball too and play in the role of a seam-bowling all-rounder.
Pandya didn’t bowl a single ball in the last two IPL seasons and delivered only 4 overs during the T20 World Cup in the UAE. He has had back and shoulders injury issues that have kept him from bowling at full tilt.
Pandya also hasn’t played red-ball cricket since 2018. This is, however, not what BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had indicated last week. Ganguly revealed that Pandya has been injured for a while and hence wasn’t picked after the T20 World Cup, adding that he expected the all-rounder to feature in the Ranji Trophy and also bowl some overs.
“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,” Ganguly told PTI earlier.
The Ranji Trophy will be played in two phases – before and after the IPL 2022. The first phase will kickstart on February 10 and go on till March 15. The second phase will be held from May 30 to June 26.
This means that Hardik will now straightaway be seen in action during the IPL 2022, where he will lead the Ahmedabad franchise which has bought him for INR 15 crore. Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill are the other picks made by Ahmedabad.
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