Hardik Pandya returned to competitive cricket for the first time in four months during a DY Patil T20 tournament match for Reliance against ONGC at the DY Patil Cricket Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and returned with impressive figures of 2/22 in three overs. Pandya, who will lead Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL this season, got the wickets of Eknath Kerkar and Rahul Tripathi. Eknath was caught and bowled by Pandya for nine whereas Rahul Tripathji was dismissed for a duck courtesy a catch by Dev Lakra.
Pandya has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh in October, the match where he sustained an ankle injury. Pandya, who captained Gujarat Titans to IPL glory in 2023, was traded to five-time champions MI in a blockbuster trade deal that was worth Rs 15 crore.
MI will open their IPL 2024 campaign against Pandya’s former side GT in Ahmedabad on 24 March.