India’s top all-rounder Hardik Pandya is now ready to make his comeback in blue finally. After getting over the left quadriceps injury that he suffered during the 2025 Asia Cup, Hardik Pandya has now been included in India’s team for the next series of five T20I matches against South Africa.
Due to the injury, Pandya could not play in the Asia Cup 2025 final and the Australia tour that followed. Nevertheless, currently, the star all-rounder has his eyes only on T20I cricket to keep him fit and also to avoid the risk of injury before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
Hardik Pandya is back in the Indian squad for the South African T20I series. He got the green signal from the BCCI Centre of Excellence and straightaway went back to action playing for Baroda in the ongoing 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And now Hardik is going to join the Indian team in Cuttack on December 6, which is the day the entire squad will be ready for the T20I series.
The Indian all-rounder has already taken part in two 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches for Baroda—First against Punjab on December 2 and the second game against Gujarat on December 4—to check both his fitness and his form before rejoining the Indian cricket team.
At first, it was decided that Pandya would take part in the third Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 match on December 6 against Haryana. However, this plan was modified at the last minute. Since on that day the Indian team will be gathering in Cuttack, Pandya will now be joining the squad instead.
Hardik Pandya will be joining Team India in Cuttack on December 6th. The Times of India that some Indian players might reach Cuttack a day early on December 5th and thus Pandya also is expected to arrive on December 6th. However, the final travel arrangements for the T20i series against South Africa are still being worked out.
In fact, Pandya gave a very good account of himself in both the matches played in India’s highest T20 competition for the team Baroda. His first performance, against Punjab, was a mix of good and bad; the senior all-rounder got just one wicket but at the cost of 52 runs in four overs. Nevertheless, he made a huge impression on everyone with his batting display which was nothing but explosive.
The right-handed batsman scored 77 runs in only 42 balls with the help of four massive sixes and was instrumental in Baroda completing the daunting task of 223 runs with five balls to spare against Punjab. Pandya was more like himself with the ball in his second SMAT 2025 game.
Hardik Pandya’s explosive performance helped his team Baroda to a big win over Gujarat in SMAT
The 32-year-old bowler gave away only 16 runs and took one wicket in his four overs bowled against Gujarat. Not needing to chase more than 74 runs, Hardik Pandya had a small opportunity to bat and he scored 10 runs in six balls. Baroda won the match handsomely by eight wickets after the state associations moved the venue because of the popularity of Pandya.
Initially, the match was planned to be played at the Gymkhana ground, but later due to the large crowd and security issues, the venue was changed to Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday. The fans had even breached security during Baroda’s clash against Punjab, hence the concern for security was high.
These two matches were just the right kind of preparation for Pandya before his return to international cricket. He is anticipated to play in the first T20I against South Africa on December 9.