Hardik Pandya misses Baroda's Syed Mushtaq Ali squad as Krunal Pandya takes charge

Hardik Pandya has been left out of Baroda's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad, leaving a comeback that has already run past five months without a date

The Baroda Cricket Association named a 15-man squad on Saturday for the domestic T20 tournament, which begins on 14 November. Krunal Pandya will captain the side, with Atit Sheth as his deputy.

Pandya is in neither the squad nor the list of standbys. He has not played a competitive match since 24 May, when he last turned out for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and has spent the months since at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The omission carries more weight than a routine team sheet. Four days earlier in Auckland, India captain Shubman Gill had pointed to domestic cricket as the bridge back to international selection.

Shin injury leaves the return open-ended

Pandya's season unravelled in stages rather than in one blow. Back spasms cost him matches late in the IPL, and leg problems followed as he built his bowling loads back up in Bengaluru.

He was named in India A's one-day squad against Australia A in October, subject to medical clearance, but withdrew with a fresh shin injury after reporting pain while bowling. Reports at the time said he was not fully pain-free with ball in hand.

That withdrawal removed the first of the two comeback fixtures that had been mapped out for him. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was the second.

Gill had pointed to the domestic route

Speaking to reporters in Auckland on the eve of India's first ODI against New Zealand on 3 November, Gill was asked about the all-rounder. "It has been very unfortunate that he hasn't been able to play since the IPL," he said.

The captain set out the sequence as the team understood it. "Hopefully, he will be fit soon, play some domestic cricket, and then we will see him back in the side," Gill said.

He was equally clear about what Pandya settles when he is available. "If Hardik Pandya comes into the team, then our number seven and number eight positions will also be sorted," Gill said, adding that India would look a much more balanced batting side with him in it.

Krunal leads a Baroda side without him

Krunal Pandya takes charge of a squad that includes Deepak Hooda, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, Shashwat Rawat, Shivalik Sharma, Parikshit Patidar and the seamer Raj Limbani. Chintal Gandhi and Priyanshu Moliya were named as standbys.

Baroda open their campaign against Chandigarh in Mumbai on 14 November. The tournament runs through to its final on 6 December.

More than five months on the sidelines

The gap is now the longest of Pandya's career. Since 24 May he has missed India's white-ball assignments one after another, including the ODI series in New Zealand that his teammates are playing without him.

India's management has not hidden what that costs. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has described Pandya as extremely important to the side's plans, for the simple reason that a frontline seam option batting at six or seven is rare.

The medical approach has been correspondingly cautious. The requirement set for him is progressive running, bowling and sprinting without pain before any selection conversation reopens.

A crowded calendar ahead

India's next white-ball cricket at home is the Sri Lanka series, with the ODIs beginning on 13 December and the T20Is from 22 December. Whether Pandya is available for either remains unclear.

Beyond that sits the 2027 ODI World Cup, and the team management's stated preference is to manage his workload with that tournament in mind rather than rush a bowling all-rounder back through a packed domestic schedule.

For now the plan is the same one it has been since May: rehabilitation first, a domestic return when the body allows, and India after that.

Baroda begin against Chandigarh on 14 November, with the date of Pandya's next competitive appearance still unset.