He will become the first Indian and overall the third player in the history of T20 Internationals to achieve the double of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets.
Hardik Pandya, who has been out of international action since September, is gearing up for a comeback during the five-match T20 series against South Africa, beginning in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9.
It will be the 32-year-old's first outing at the highest level after turning up against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup Super Fours match in Dubai on September 26.
Last week, Pandya made an excellent return to competitive cricket, striking an unbeaten 77 to power Baroda to a seven-wicket win over Punjab in the national T20 tournament for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He also bowled four and returned figures of 1/52.
One of India's key players in white-ball cricket, Pandya is poised for two big milestones in the series against The Proteas.
He will become the first Indian and overall the third player in the history of T20 Internationals to achieve the double of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets after Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi.
The right-hander is 140 runs away from completing 2,000 T20I runs, while he is two wickets away from scalping 100 wickets in the shortest format.
If Pandya completes 100 wickets in T20Is, he will become only the second Indian bowler to do so.
Currently, he is the third-highest wicket-taker for India in the format, with 98 scalps at an average of 26.58.
With the bat, Pandya has accumulated 1,860 runs in 120 matches at an average of 27.35 and a strike rate of 141.01 with five fifties to his credit.
Pandya was out of action after suffering a quadriceps injury two months ago. The injury forced him to skip the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan, which India won, and the white-ball tour Down Under.
The remaining four matches of the South Africa series are scheduled to be held in New Chandigarh (December 11), Dharamsala (December 14), Lucknow (December 17), and Ahmedabad (December 19).
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