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Hardik Pandya’s return sparked chaos in Hyderabad as fans repeatedly mobbed him on the field, forcing multiple stoppages during Baroda’s Syed Mushtaq Ali clash vs Punjab.
Hardik Pandya gets mobbed by his fans in Hyderabad.
(PC: AFP, X)
Hardik Pandya’s fanfare became a problem for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) authorities on Tuesday. The all-rounder got mobbed several times by the Hyderabad crowd eager to meet and click photos with him at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Punjab.
This was the all-rounder’s return to competitive cricket after several weeks. He picked up a quadricep injury while bowling the first over against Sri Lanka in the 2025 Asia Cup and was ruled out of the tournament.
Interestingly, when security personnel tried to keep some of the pitch invaders away, Pandya seemed to walk to them and say to the officers to let them take their selfies before going. Watch it here:
His comeback match didn’t start perfectly, as he conceded 52 runs in his four overs, though taking the wicket of Punjab’s senior batter and top-scorer Anmolpreet Singh for 69 (32). The Punjabis still managed to put up a whopping 222/8 in 20 overs at the typically flat surface, with youngster Raj Limbani taking three wickets.
In reply, the rejuvenated Baroda team put up a stellar team performance. Openers Vishnu Solanki and Shashwat Rawat had a stand of 66 (31) before Shivalik Sharma and Pandya took over.
The latter showed all his class, smashing 77 (42) with seven sixes and four boundaries at a strike rate of 183.33. Baroda chased the total down in 19.1 overs.
Hardik Pandya spent a month in CoE
Pandya has worked quite hard for this moment. He reportedly spent a month in the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to get fit and is now targeting an international return in the five-T20I series against South Africa, which begins on December 9.
“From October 21 to November 30, Hardik didn’t even move out of the COE and completed his full rehab and ‘Return To Play’ protocols,” news agency PTI quoted a source in the know of the developments as saying. “As of now, he has been given the all clear — to bat and bowl in T20Is — and he has already linked up with the Baroda team for the Punjab game. He will play on December 4 vs Gujarat and if the Indian team management doesn’t summon him earlier, then he plans to play the December 6 game against Haryana also.”
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 02, 2025, 16:12 IST
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