Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has decided to skip the Ranji Trophy 2022 despite the suggestion of BCCI President Sourav Ganguly.
The development came to the fore when Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) revealed their 20-member squad for the first phase of the Ranji Trophy. Hardik’s name wasn’t part of the list, as Kedar Devdhar was named the captain of the side while Vishnu Solanki was appointed Devdhar’s deputy.
Not so long ago, the BCCI head Ganguly had revealed that they gave a break to Hardik to recover and suggested the 28-yar-old to play the domestic season where he could bowl more overs to get his body stronger.
“Hardik was injured, and a break was given to him to recover completely so that he can continue to serve Indian cricket for a long period of time. I believe I will see him play some Ranji Trophy to start with. I expect him to bowl a lot more overs, and his body will get stronger,” Ganguly had told PTI.
Notably, Hardik has remained on the sidelines since the T20 World Cup 2021. He has made himself unavailable for national selection due to a back injury and further rehabilitation. Hardik, along with the Indian selectors, were heavily criticised as the all-rounder played the T20 World Cup only as a batsman and didn’t contribute in the bowling.
It is expected that Hardik will return to competitive cricket in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The Indian star is set to make his first appearance as a full-time captain of the CVC-owned Ahmedabad franchise – which is going to be called Ahmedabad Titans (AT).
Ahead of the mega-auctions, the Ahmedabad Titans were asked to pick three players in the draft where they roped in the likes of Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill. The players’ auction will take place on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru.
