Deepak Hooda Returns to Baroda: A Rift Healed
Deepak Hooda is going back to where it all began.
Five years after a bitter fallout pushed him out of Baroda and into Rajasthan’s dressing room, the hard-hitting batting allrounder is set for a homecoming that once looked impossible. The move has been cleared, the conversations have been had, and the old wounds, Baroda insist, have finally healed.
“Yes, Deepak is coming back to Baroda. He and Krunal (Pandya) have spoken to each other. Everything is sorted between them,” Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) CEO Snehal Parikh told TOI on Thursday, drawing a line under one of domestic cricket’s more public feuds.
From Walkout to Return
In January 2021, on the eve of Baroda’s first match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Hooda walked out of the team hotel and, soon after, out of Baroda cricket. He alleged “bad behaviour”, abusive language and “bullying” from then captain Krunal Pandya, saying the environment had left him “depressed, demoralised and under pressure”.
The BCA responded with a ban for the entire 2020-21 season, citing “indiscipline”. Hooda moved on, signing with Rajasthan as a professional for the 2021-22 domestic season. For many, that looked like a permanent break.
Now, the same board that sanctioned him is welcoming him back. Parikh has made it clear that “all issues between BCA and Hooda had been sorted now,” a significant statement given the history involved and the stature Hooda has built in the intervening years.
The reconciliation with Krunal Pandya sits at the heart of this story. Once at loggerheads, the two have now spoken and, according to the BCA, cleared the air. For Baroda, it restores two experienced white-ball operators to the same ecosystem. For Hooda, it offers a return to familiar pitches and a chance to reset his red-ball career at home.
Proven Numbers, Prime Years
At 31, Hooda returns not as a promising youngster, but as a seasoned domestic and international cricketer.
His first-class record underlines that. In 67 matches, he has piled up 4,267 runs at an average of 45.39, with 14 centuries and 18 half-centuries. The standout remains that towering 293 not out, the sort of innings that anchors a career and a reputation. With the ball, his off-spin has brought 29 wickets at 41.44, including a best of 5 for 31 — handy overs that allow captains flexibility.
In List A cricket, Hooda has been just as valuable. Across 109 games, he has scored 3,340 runs at 38.83, with six hundreds and 17 fifties, and a top score of 104. His 42 wickets at 29.92, with a best of 5 for 55, reinforce his status as a genuine allround option.
The T20 numbers tell the story of a modern middle-order hitter. In 230 T20s, he has struck 3,972 runs at 24.67, with two centuries and a highest of 108. Those are the figures of a player trusted across leagues and conditions to change games quickly.
Hooda’s India career remains stop-start, but far from negligible. He has featured in 10 ODIs, scoring 153 runs at 25.50 and taking three wickets at 39.66. In 21 T20Is, he has produced 368 runs at an average of 30.66 and chipped in with six wickets at a strikingly good 12.66. His last outing in India colours came in a T20I against New Zealand on February 1, 2023.
That gap in international appearances only sharpens the significance of this domestic move. A strong season back with Baroda could push his name into national conversations again.
Baroda Reshapes Its Core
Hooda’s return is not the only piece of Baroda’s domestic puzzle.
Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, one of the most explosive white-ball keepers on the circuit, will continue to represent Baroda as a guest player, but only in the limited-overs formats, Parikh confirmed. That keeps Baroda’s batting spine in white-ball cricket stacked: Krunal Pandya’s experience, Hooda’s power and versatility, and Jitesh’s finishing ability give the side a distinctly aggressive look.
At the structural level, Baroda have also moved to strengthen their fast-bowling pipeline. Former India pacer Munaf Patel has been appointed pace bowling coach and mentor of the BCA academy in Vadodara. A World Cup winner with India and a seasoned campaigner in domestic and IPL cricket, Munaf brings both technical knowledge and hard-earned street-smarts to the role.
It signals a clear intent: mend old relationships, retain high-impact talent, and build a sharper, more resilient core for the seasons ahead.
The statistics explain why Baroda wanted Hooda back. The history explains why it took this long. What happens next will show whether this reunion becomes a turning point for both player and team, or just a brief, uneasy truce in a long domestic career.
