India’s T20I all-rounder Krunal Pandya will be leading Baroda in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Since India do not play a T20I game during the duration of the tournament, Krunal will be available for the complete tournament.
Also Read: MS Dhoni extends his vacation, not available for Bangladesh T20Is
Last year, he had led Baroda in Ranji Trophy and has also taken over as the captain in Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The team will miss out on the services of Hardik Pandya, who could have been available as he is not a part of the squad for the Tests series against South Africa that starts on October 2.
Hardik was rested for the West Indies tour after World Cup 2019 and has been managing his back in 2019. Earlier this year, he had withdrawn from the home Australia series due to same trouble.
Experienced batsman Kedar Dedhar will be assisting Krunal in captaincy duties. Deepak Hooda, who led the team last year, is also a part of the team. All-rounder Yusuf Pathan is the most experienced player in Baroda squad.
Also Read: Shikhar Dhawan available for Delhi in Vijay Hazare Trophy
The team will aim to make improvements to their performance from the last year. In 2018/19, Baroda did not qualify for the next round of the tournament. In six matches that they played, Baroda won four and lost two. Another two of their matches were washed out without a ball being bowled.
The team has a number of experienced campaigners this time around and is one of the strongest contenders.
Placed in Group B, Baroda will play all their matches in Vadodara. They will start their campaign against Odisha (September 24) and will later face Uttar Pradesh (September 25), Maharashtra (September 28), Haryana (October 1), Himachal Pradesh (October 3), Vidarbha (October 5), Delhi (October 9) and Punjab (October 9).