Hardik Pandya to leave Baroda early to join Team India in Cuttack on...

India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya is finally set to return to the action in blue. Hardik Pandya has been named in India’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa after fully recovering from his left quadriceps injury that he sustained during the 2025 Asia Cup.

Pandya missed the Asia Cup 2025 final and then the Australia tour because of the injury. However, the star all-rounder is presently focusing only on the T20I cricket to keep him fresh and avoid the risk of injury ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

Hardik Pandya returns to India squad for South Africa T20Is

He received clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence and immediately returned to action for Baroda in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. And now Hardik is all set to join the Indian squad in Cuttack on December 6, the same day the entire squad gathers for the T20I series.

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The Indian all-rounder has already played two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 matches for Baroda—first against Punjab on December 2 and the second game against Gujarat on December 4—to test both his fitness and his form before rejoining the Indian cricket team.

Initially, Pandya was supposed to play the third Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 game on December 6 against Haryana. However, this plan was changed at the last moment. Since the Indian team will assemble in Cuttack on the same day, Pandya will now link up with the squad instead.

Hardik Pandya to joins Team India in Cuttack on December 6

The Times of India report suggested that some Indian players might reach Cuttack a day early on December 5, and Pandya is also expected to arrive on December 6, but the final travel arrangements are yet to be made for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.

Well, Pandya showed encouraging signs in both matches in India’s premier T20 tournament for Baroda. His first outing against Punjab was mixed, as the senior all-rounder picked up just one wicket while giving away 52 runs in four overs. But he impressed everyone with his fiery batting show.

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The right-handed batter smashed 77 runs off only 42 balls, hitting four huge sixes, and helped Baroda to successfully chase down a 223-run target with five balls to spare against Punjab. In his second SMAT 2025 game, Pandya looked much sharper with the ball.

Hardik Pandya starred in Baroda's big win over Gujarat in SMAT clash

The 32-year-old delivered a tight spell of 1/16 in his four overs against Gujarat. Chasing just 74 runs, Hardik Pandya didn’t get much batting time and finished with 10 runs off six deliveries. Baroda won the match by eight wickets after the state associations shifted the venue due to Pandya’s popularity.

Earlier, the match was scheduled to be held at the Gymkhana ground, but later it was shifted to Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday due to the huge crowd and security concerns after fans breached security during Baroda’s Punjab clash.

Well, these two matches gave Pandya exactly the kind of preparation he needed before returning to international cricket. He is expected to feature in the first T20I against South Africa on December 9.