Fit-again Hardik, Bhuvi, Dhawan to play in DY Patil T20 tournament

Fit-again India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is attempting to make his comeback by taking part in the D Y Patil T20 tournament, starting in Mumbai, on Monday.

Hardik suffered a bad lower back injury five months ago and underwent a surgery in London.

The 26-year-old all-rounder, who hasn't played international cricket since then, has been recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

"Reliance 1 would be represented by players like Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan," said Dr Vijay Patil, president, D Y Patil Sports Academy and also the president of Mumbai Cricket Association said.

Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar are also on their road to recovery after sustaining injuries.

Bhuvneshwar underwent a hernia operation, while Dhawan suffered a shoulder injury during the ODI series against Australia at home last month.

A total of 16 teams will vie for the trophy with the final set to be held on March 6.

India players Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson and domestic stalwarts like Surya Kumar Yadav, Rahul Tripathi and Divyaansh Saxena, who represented Under-19 India in the World Cup, are part of the BPCL team.

Dinesh Karthik, Mandeep Singh Rahul Tewatia, Varun Chakravorthy and young Maharashtra batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad will represent D Y Patil A team.

Another youngster Kamlesh Nagarkoti, pacer Varun Aaron and Manan Vohra would turn up for D Y Patil B team.

The other teams in fray are CAG, Income Tax, IOC, Bank of Baroda and RBI.