Hardik Pandya has made a return to competitive cricket for the first time since an ankle injury ruled him out midway through the 2023 ODI World Cup. Playing for Reliance 1 in the DY Patil T20 Cup in Navi Mumbai, Pandya opened the bowling and picked up 2 for 22 from his three overs on Monday afternoon. He then batted at No. 10 and saw off a tense chase along with Piyush Chawla. Pandya was unbeaten on 3 off four balls as Reliance 1 beat Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited by two wickets.
Pandya has been working his way back to full fitness over the past two months. After resuming training in Baroda three weeks ago following his rehab, Pandya featured alongside Rishabh Pant in three practice T20s organised by the NCA in Alur last week. Pandya batted and bowled in all those matches and was subsequently cleared by the NCA to feature in the DY Patil tournament. Pandya will head back to the NCA in early March for a final fitness assessment before he joins the Mumbai Indians' pre-season camp ahead of IPL 2024, which begins on March 22.Pandya will replace Rohit Sharma as Mumbai's captain following a frenetic period of negotiations after the World Cup that led to the biggest player trade in IPL history. Apart from Pandya, the DY Patil tournament will feature Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer.
