Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be seen playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 Trophy (SMAT) after 8 years. He has been included in the Baroda team captained by Krunal Pandya. The 31-year-old Hardik last participated in this tournament in 2016.
The current season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is starting from November 23. The first match will be played between Hyderabad and Meghalaya in Rajkot. Baroda's first match will be played against Gujarat in Indore. 2 days ago Shreyas Iyer was selected in Mumbai and Mohammad Shami in Bengal team.
Punjab team won Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament last season. The team won the title by defeating Baroda by 20 runs.
Last year Baroda were runners up, this time the first match was against Gujarat In the last season of SMAT, the Baroda team was the runner up. The team lost to Punjab by 20 runs in the final match played in Mohali on 6 November 2023.
Baroda's first match this season will be played against Gujarat in Indore. The team will then face Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Saurashtra, Karnataka and Sikkim.
Hardik played this tournament in 2016 Hardik Pandya last played this tournament in January 2016. He had not even made his debut in international cricket then. He also played one Ranji Trophy match for Baroda against Mumbai in 2018–19. Baroda team is in great form. The team took 27 points in the first round of the Ranji Trophy. They are top of their group.
Hardik Pandya along with Irfan Pathan during the 2016 season.
Hardik released MI captain, Krunal Hardik was retained by IPL franchise Mumbai Indians last month. He has also been made a captain. Meanwhile, Krunal has been released from LSG and will participate in the IPL auction.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
