India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been asked to prove his fitness in a Ranji Trophy clash as he steps up his return from a back injury.

According to a report from Sportstar, Pandya has been ruled out of the limited-overs leg of India A’s ongoing tour of New Zealand and has instead been asked to focus on the Ranji Trophy.

The 25-year-old was initially called up to the India A squad for their unofficial ODI clashes against New Zealand A which get underway from December 7.

However, after a recent visit to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, Pandya was found to be unfit to travel to New Zealand with the all-rounder said to require a further one week to regain his fitness.

Pandya could now feature for Baroda in their Ranji Trophy clash against Mumbai which gets underway on December 14.

The all-rounder has been sidelined with a back injury since breaking down in the Asia Cup held in the UAE in September and was not picked for India’s squad for the tour of Australia in either of the three formats.

However, according to the report, Pandya could be in the frame for a late call up to the India squad for the final two Tests against Australia should he prove his match fitness in the coming days.

The three-match ODI series against the Aussies will be a more realistic shot for Pandya to make his India comeback. The 50-over clashes get underway after the completion of the Test series with the first ODI taking place at Sydney on January 12.