India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will miss the upcoming Ranji Trophy campaign for Baroda, starting February 10 as he continues to be on the sidelines. Hardik last played competitive cricket at the T20 World Cup last year but has been working on making an India comeback.

Kedar Devdhar was named skipper of the Baroda team on Monday, February 7. Vishnu Solanki was named Devdhar’s deputy as the Baroda Cricket Association announced a 20-member squad ahead of the first phase of the tournament.

Hardik’s name is missing from the Baroda squad for Ranji Trophy 2022. However, his brother Krunal Pandya has found a spot in the 20-man squad.

Hardik has been bogged down by recurring back injuries and the all-rounder hasn’t bowled consistently in international cricket or in the IPL. However, he has been working on his rehabilitation after missing the trip to South Africa and the home series against New Zealand and the West Indies.

Hardik is likely to return to action in the Indian Premier League 2022. He was named as the captain of the new-Ahmedabad franchise owned by CVC Capital. Hardik was picked as Ahmedabad’s first choice in the draft for Rs 15 crore.

In an interview to PTI last week, BCCI President Saurav Ganguly had said he expected to see the all-rounder play in the Ranji Trophy.

“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,” Ganguly said.

The tournament, which was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was scheduled to begin on January 13 but was postponed owing to the third wave of infections across the country.

It will now be held in two phases, with the first phase beginning on Thursday till March 15 across various venues in the country.

The premier domestic event then takes a break during the IPL and resumes from May 30 to June 26.

Baroda Squad for Ranji Trophy 2022

Kedar Dhevdhar, 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.