Hardik Pandya returns to action-packed cricket ahead of IPL 2024

India’s star cricketer, Hardik Pandya, makes his much-anticipated return to the cricket field on Monday, February 26. Notably, the great all-rounder hasn’t played in an action-packed match after getting injured during the league stage game of the ODI World Cup 2023 clash against Bangladesh at MCA in Pune on October 19.

The all-rounder ended up hurting his ankle while trying to block a shot with his foot from Bangladesh opener Liton Das in the game. However, the 30-year-old cricketer was expected to recover in time for the later stages of the World Cup; however, he wasn’t involved in the game any more. Following the ODI World Cup 2023, Hardik Pandya was sidelined from the T20I series against Australia, the South Africa tour, and the Afghanistan series, which was the final preparation for the T20 World Cup 2024, which is slated to take place on June 1 in the West Indies and USA.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya marked his stunning comeback to competitive cricket on Monday in the DY Patil T20 event after an extended four-month break. The star cricketer is the team captain for Reliance 1. A match between Reliance 1 and Bharat Petroleum was played at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy Cricket Ground in Navi Mumbai to kick off the season.

Hardik Pandya will lead the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024

Hardik Pandya will lead the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024. Notably, Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher has recently revealed that he saw the trading window open, which prompted them to get him back. The star all-rounder had a great captaincy stint with the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022, where he emerged as the winner; however, the side ended up being the first runner-up in the IPL 2023 after CSK beat them in the last two balls.

“We saw a window period to get Hardik back as a player. He is a Mumbai Indians boy as well. He’s gone over to another franchise, he won his first year as captain, came runner-up in his second year. There’s obviously some very good leadership skills as well,” Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher said earlier this month.