Ranji Trophy 2018-19: Hardik Pandya Named in Baroda's 15-member Squad for Mumbai Game

Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is out of action since September 2018 after sustaining a back injury during the match against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2018. However, he has been named in Baroda’s 15-member squad for their Group A Ranji Trophy game against Mumbai.

The game will commence from December 14, 2018. Snehal Parikh, the secretary in-charge of the Baroda Cricket Association, confirmed to PTI about Pandya’s inclusion on Monday.

Pandya was undergoing rehabilitation and had missed the Windies series as well as the ongoing series against Australia Down Under.

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Pandya had replaced another all-rounder Babashafi Pathan in the Baroda Ranji squad. They will take on hosts Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium on December 14.

Interestingly, apart from Pandya, former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan is also a part of the Baroda squad. Baroda had played five games in this season out of which they had managed to win a solitary game. The state had lost one game and managed to draw the remaining three.

In the combined Group A and B standings, they are holding the 5th spot with 13 points. On the other hand, 41-time champions Mumbai are holding the 16th position with five points.

The right-hander holds a good record in the first-class circuit. He had played 28 games and scored 1,278 runs including one hundred and nine half-centuries.

Pandya had his best score of 108 runs in the first-class format. Additionally, he can be utilised as one of the premium bowlers in the team. Pandya had bagged 41 wickets including two five-wicket hauls in first-class cricket.

Baroda Squad:

Kedar Devdhar (Captain), Aditya Waghmode, Vishnu Solanki (Vice Captain), Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Singh, Bhargav Bhatt, Soeb Tai, Rishi Arothe, Lukman Meriwala, Shivalik Sharma, Mitesh Patel (wicket-keeper), Dhiren Mistry, Soyeb Soparia, Pratyush Kumar and Hardik Pandya.