Hardik Pandya makes much-awaited comeback, Ishan Kishan missing from Reliance’s playing XI in DY Patil T20 tournament

financialexpress.com:

Hardik Pandya is set to make a comeback to competitive cricket in the DY Patil T20 tournament, commencing today (February 26). Leading the Reliance team, the Mumbai Indians skipper will commence their campaign against Bharat Petroleum. 

Pandya, India’s premier all-rounder, has been absent from the field since sustaining an ankle injury during the 2023 World Cup group stage match against Bangladesh in Pune. In his return, he will captain the Reliance unit, joined by players such as Tilak Verma, Nehal Wadhera, and Piyush Chawla.

According to a CricketNext report, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) enrolled Hardik Pandya in a high-performance program with a focus on long-term goals and significant white-ball assignments. The 30-year-old has diligently worked on his fitness during the past four months and is set to make his on-field comeback.

In a noteworthy update, Ishan Kishan, India’s wicketkeeper-batter, did not find a place in Reliance’s Playing XI for the day. It is understood that Kishan is likely to represent the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the tournament.

Many IPL players view this tournament as a crucial opportunity to kickstart their preparations for the Indian Premier League. With the Ranji Trophy group stage concluded, top players from India will be participating in the DY Patil T20 tournament, which concludes on March 9.

Furthermore, Dinesh Karthik will be taking a break from his commentary duties during the fifth India-England Test in Dharamsala, starting on March 7. The wicketkeeper-batter will be actively playing for DY Patil B in the T20 tournament.

Having played in the last edition, Karthik demonstrated an impressive performance, scoring 138 runs in 4 innings at a strike rate of 168.29. His team reached