Hardik Pandya To Play Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy For Baroda Under Brother Krunal Pandya’s Captaincy

Former India T20I captain Hardik Pandya is all set to return to domestic cricket, as he will play the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2024 for his domestic side Baroda. Interestingly, Hardik will be playing under his brother Krunal Pandya’s captaincy.

Hardik Pandya, who will captain Mumbai Indians, interestingly was not the first player to be retained by the franchise ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League. Rather, Jasprit Bumrah was selected as the first IPL 2025 retainer for the Mumbai Indians.

Hardik wants to demonstrate once more that he is currently the best all-around player in Indian cricket’s limited-overs format.

Pandya had not yet made his international debut when he last competed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January 2016. With an incredible 27 points to lead Group A in the first leg of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25, the Baroda squad is coming into the tournament in excellent shape.

Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya to turn out for Baroda in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy

Baroda, placed in Group B, will compete against strong teams like Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Saurashtra, Karnataka, and Sikkim in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, which is set to kick off on November 23.

The best all-around player in India, who recently played in the four T20Is against South Africa, will now be part of the Baroda team for what promises to be an exciting competition with several international regulars.

A source was quoted as saying by Sportstar: “Usually, the association names 18-member squads, but this time around, only 17 members were named initially, and now, Hardik Pandya has also been added to the squad.”

Krunal, meanwhile, has had a fantastic start to the domestic season and has been in excellent form. In the first round of the Ranji Trophy, the southpaw captained Baroda, and the team won four of their five games, including a historic victory over Mumbai, to take the lead in Group A of the Elite Division.

With 367 runs from seven innings and a century and three half-centuries, the left-hander with the bat has also had an unforgettable season.

Krunal Pandya had led Baroda to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy last year, where they lost to Punjab in the final. The Pandya brothers, both in stellar form, will look to lead from the front as Baroda aims to rewrite history and win the coveted title this time.

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