Superstar India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has made his much-awaited comeback to professional cricket after a gap of more than four months. He did so via the DY Patil T20 Cup in Mumbai, playing for team Reliance 1.
In October last year, Hardik Pandya had suffered an ankle injury while playing in the World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Pune. He got ruled out from the remainder of the World Cup and missed all cricket action since then, including white-ball matches in South Africa and T20I series at home against Afghanistan.
During this period, he was named the new Mumbai Indians captain ahead of the IPL 2024 auction after being traded back to MI from Gujarat Titans, who he led brilliantly in the last two seasons. However, while he was appointed as the new MI skipper, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit Sharma will lead India in the T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
Talking about his comeback in the DY Patil T20 Cup, Pandya played against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited by two wickets, and his team won by two wickets.
Hardik Pandya surprisingly came out to bat at number 10. This was a bizarre move that shocked the fans as this tournament is a perfect preparatory tournament for the IPL 2024 next month. Pandya scored three runs in four balls and remained unbeaten, taking his side over the line in a chase.
After the game, Hardik posted four pictures on his social media account, and this led to some trolling.
Fans troll Hardik Pandya after his comeback:
Hardik Pandya, though, made a match-winning impact with the ball. He returned with impressive figures of 2/22 in 3 overs.
He will, next month, lead MI in the IPL 2024. MI’s first match, on March 23, is a blockbuster one: against Gujarat Titans, Hardik’s previous team, in Ahmedabad, Hardik’s previous home ground. There could be some booing direct at Pandya by the Ahmedabad crowd.
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