Hardik Pandya return date confirmed, to play domestic cricket before SA ODIs

Hardik Pandya has been out injured since the Asia Cup encounter against Sri Lanka, but now is on the verge of regaining full fitness. As per the Times of India, the all-rounder will be fit in time for the IND vs SA ODI series, that begins on November 30. But even before that, Pandya is set for his competitive return.

Hardik Pandya to play SMAT

The report further suggests, that the Hardik Pandya could prove his fitness, and appear for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He is currently training at the CoE in Bengaluru, and could feature in the first SMAT match as well. If not, he would surely be available for the second encounter.

Comeback confirmed for SA ODIs

From there, he will get a clearance from the CoE, to play for India again. Meanwhile, this time around, he had injured his left quadricep in the SL match, which also forced him to miss the Pakistan final. Due to the same injury, he could not feature in the Australia series as well.

Now, it remains to be seen, with Pandya fit, if the management will look to rope in another fast-bowling all-rounder in the ODI squad, which is yet to be announced. The other options though, can be Shivam Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy. The latter has been removed from the Test squad, and been added to the SA A ODI series that starts on November 13.