Hardik Pandya will be expected to make his much-awaited comeback from injury while the promising domestic talent will be looking for impactful performances ahead of the IPL auction when the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy SMAT begins across four venues from Wednesday.
Hardik has not played competitive cricket since suffering a quadricep injury during Asia Cup in September.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup at home in February-March, Hardik would only play the shortest format and SMAT will be a platform where he can prove his fitness before the T20 series against South Africa beginning December 9.