Overview
- The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy begins on November 26, with reports indicating Pandya could play Baroda’s opener against Bengal or the second game on November 28 in Hyderabad.
- He has been training in Bengaluru and is described as near match fitness, pending formal Return-to-Play clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
- Plans reported suggest he will travel directly to Hyderabad once cleared, aiming for at least one competitive outing before India’s ODIs start on November 30.
- Pandya’s layoff followed a left quadriceps injury suffered against Sri Lanka at the Asia Cup, which kept him out of the final and the Australia tour.
- Coverage also cites a BCCI push for injured or non-selected players to turn out in domestic cricket, with India’s squad announcement still awaited and other all-round options such as Shivam Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy mentioned in reports.