Hardik Pandya set to miss Ranji Trophy

Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya won't be featuring in Baroda's upcoming Ranji Trophy campaign in a bid to focus on his white-ball comeback. The country's premier tournament will be played in two phases - pre and post IPL 2022. While the first leg will be played from February 10 to March 15, the second phase is scheduled from May 30 to June 26.

The 28-year-old, who last played red-ball cricket in December 2018, has been on the sidelines since the T20 World Cup last year, making himself unavailable due to a back injury and further rehabilitation.

"I believe I will see him play some Ranji Trophy to start with" - Sourav Ganguly

Hardik, named skipper of the new Ahmedabad franchise in the IPL, is expected to make his much-awaited return to competitive action during the fifteenth edition of the cash-rich league.

Meanwhile, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who was expecting Hardik to feature in the Ranji Trophy, had told PTI last week:

"Hardik was injured and a break was given to him to completely recover, 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."

However, Hardik hasn't been named by Baroda. His brother Krunal is in the 20-man squad announced by the Baroda Cricket Association, which has Kedar Devdhar as skipper and Vishnu Solanki as his deputy.

Baroda Ranji Trophy squad: Kedar Devdhar (c), Vishnu Solanki, Pratyush Kumar, Shivalik Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Abhimanyusingh Rajput, Dhruv Patel, Mitesh Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Babasafikhan Pathan (wk), Atit Sheth, Bhargav Bhatt, Parth Kohli, Shashwat Rawat, Soyeb Sopariya, Kartik Kakade, Gurjindersingh Mann, Jyotsnil Singh, Ninad Rathwa, Akshay More.