Back from injury in SMAT 2025-26, Hardik Pandya aims to regain form — a must-have for India’s T20 World Cup 2026 plans.
Heading into the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, Hardik Pandya will be a vital player for India. His all-round skill with the ball and batting in the lower middle-order gives incredible balance to the Blue Brigade. That was the exact scenario in the previous T20 World Cup in 2024 where he batted at No. 6 or 7 and bowled in various phases of the game.
Hardik is currently out of the national side due to the injury he picked up during the Asia Cup 2025. In the last Super-Fours clash against Sri Lanka, he bowled the opening over of the second innings but didn’t return with the ball. Later, the reports confirmed that the Baroda player picked up a left quadricep injury.
Hardik Pandya returns to competitive cricket with match-winning knock for Baroda
Hardik arrived at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to begin his rehabilitation nearly three weeks after his injury. After a three-day break for Diwali, the veteran continued working with the committee on his fitness; that stretched from October 21 to November 29.
Hardik appeared for Baroda in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26. It was his first appearance in professional cricket since the end of September. National selector Pragyan Ojha was present for the game against Punjab on December 2 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Under the captaincy of Krunal Pandya, Hardik’s elder brother, Baroda didn’t make a great start in the campaign. They lost their first two encounters against Bengal and Puducherry by six wickets and 17 runs, respectively. But they bounced back strongly with a five-wicket victory two daysagainst Himachal Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Hardik opened the bowling against Punjab in Hyderabad and was ripped apart for 23 runs in his first couple of overs. Abhishek Sharma nailed the good length deliveries out of the park and collected 50 runs in just 19 balls. Hardik’s last two overs yielded figures of 1/29 as he finished his quota of four overs with 1/52, an economy rate of 13. Anmolpreet Singh, at number three, bagged 69 runs in just 32 balls at a strike rate of 215.62.
Naman Dhir also scored 39 runs in 28 balls at a strike rate of 139.29, which helped Punjab finish with 222/8 in 20 overs. However, on a good batting surface, Baroda got a strong start in the chase. Vishnu Solanki and Shashwat Rawat provided them a 66-run opening partnership in just five overs.
Hardik walked out for the chase in the eighth over at number four. The 32-year-old unfurled his range of shots from the very first of his innings and ensured that he had reserved the best for the last. He belted the left-arm pacers, Ashwani Kumar and Gurnoor Brar, for three sixes in succession.
The right-handed batter remained unbeaten for 77 runs in 42 deliveries at a strike rate of 183.33. He scored seven boundaries and four sixes in that knock as Baroda completed their highest-ever chase in SMAT. It was just one run better than last year’s 222-run chase against Tamil Nadu.
Read More: SMAT 2025-26: Abhishek Sharma continues to impress, Ishan Kishan makes a statement
Hardik Pandya likely to return for India in home South Africa series
Hardik has been incredibly impressive in the last few years with the bat. Since the beginning of 2023, he has been the fifth leading run-getter in the shortest format. The Gujarat-born has bagged 1307 runs in 58 innings at an average of 31.87. He has a strike rate of 138.89 with eight half-centuries at the best score of an unbeaten 71 runs. Among India players, only captain Suryakumar Yadav is ahead of him with 1707 runs in 51 innings.
In the bowling department, Hardik has been the Blue Brigade’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is. The right-arm pacer picked up 56 wickets in 61 innings at an average of under 26 and an economy rate of just over eight.
Even in the T20 World Cup 2024, he bagged 11 wickets in eight innings at an average of 17.36. He contained a fine economy rate of under eight and bowled the most precious last over of the final against South Africa. He successfully defended 15 runs to clinch the title.
Hardik is expected to feature against Gujarat on December 4 at the Gymkhana ground in Hyderabad. If things remain on track, then he could return to the India squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa. It will begin on December 9 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
