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Cricket PlayersIshan Kishan No.1, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi going to be ‘best-ever’ T20 batter: New Zealand’s Finn Allen | Exclusive
In an interview with HT Digital, Finn Allen, the New Zealand opener, spoke about why he rates Ishan Kishan as the world's best batter in T20s currently.
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The biggest challenge of 2026 for the Indian men's cricket team promises to be their full-fledged tour of New Zealand, where they will play five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests, beginning October 22. There is plenty of excitement in New Zealand ahead of the series, with tickets selling like hot cakes. Not too long ago, India and New Zealand met in the T20 World Cup final in India, where the Men in Blue beat the BlackCaps. But taking on the Kiwis in their own conditions will be a different challenge altogether. India drubbed New Zealand 5-0 on their last tour of the country, but six long years have passed since.
Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma have redefined T20 batting, with India setting the benchmark. However, New Zealand opener Finn Allen is not too far behind. In the T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa, the right-hander smashed a 33-ball century to knock the Proteas out of the competition before carrying the same form into the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The fight for the best T20 batter in the world is going down to the wire, and opinions are divided. However, Allen reckons Kishan is currently numero uno in the format, given his recent form. The left-hander made his comeback to the Indian playing XI earlier this year in the series against New Zealand ahead of the World Cup and hasn't looked back since. He was also India's second-highest run-scorer at the ICC event. With 281 runs in his last six innings, Kishan continues to be red-hot.
“There are so many guys who are playing such good cricket at the moment. You've got guys like Tim Seifert and things like that who have been whacking it everywhere they've been going lately. Again, Ishan, Kishan, and Abhishek Sharma are always scoring runs and smacking it. So, I mean, it's pretty hard to just pick one. I think Kishan would be up there at the moment. But yeah, it's a hard question to answer. Just one,” Allen said in an interview with HT Digital.
The list doesn't end there. Beyond Kishan and Abhishek, there is always the threat of 15-year-old Sooryavanshi, who took the world by storm in the IPL, scoring 776 runs for the Rajasthan Royals before earning a national call-up. He was also named Player of the Series in Zimbabwe and is expected to get a game or two in New Zealand.
“He's obviously incredibly talented. Yeah, it's pretty unbelievable to watch sometimes. His bat swing and the way he plays are obviously incredible, and I'm sure he's going to be one of the best ever at T20 cricket, if not the best ever. So, yeah, it's obviously one of those things, right? I'm glad I'm not a bowler. And yeah, it's pretty special watching him play sometimes,” said the 27-year-old.
Allen also expects the contest against India to be very challenging next month and cannot wait to get started in the five-match T20I series against the Men in Blue, which will be played across Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton.
"There's always huge excitement around an India series. Fans absolutely love it. As you said, we sell out every game pretty much, which is obviously really exciting for us. And we know what they bring to the table. It's going to be a pretty exciting series for fans as well. I would think the standard of cricket will be pretty high, and especially coming off the World Cup final, there's probably a little bit more in it for us boys to try and get one over them, especially in our home conditions. We'll all be absolutely fizzing for that series, and I can't wait to get that started," said Allen.
Learnings from Andre Russell
Earlier this year, Allen worked in close quarters with Andre Russell at Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. The West Indies legend was part of the backroom staff as the power-hitting coach, and the conversations between the two would have been absolute gold. However, when asked about his chats with Dre Russell, Allen kept it short.
“He has had a pretty illustrious career, and he's very experienced and one of the hardest hitters of all time. So working with him was pretty cool. Yeah, we just talked mainly about swing and things like that, and the flow of that swing being really important. And I guess he didn't want to tinker with too much, which was nice. We would just generally have conversations around base and power hitting and things like that, which is obviously one of the best in the world we're ever at,” said Allen.
International cricket vs T20 leagues
A major debate has erupted over the future of international cricket, with more and more T20 leagues popping up around the world. Several New Zealand cricketers have also opted for casual contracts, making themselves available for most leagues throughout the year.
However, Allen said international cricket remains his biggest priority and that he is still in conversations with New Zealand Cricket (NZC).
“It's obviously it's a difficult one to navigate at times because there's so much cricket on now. It just depends on your priorities. And I think, with New Zealand cricket now, we've got a really good system in place that lets us be flexible with both. The way that Rob Walter has been coming in as a coach has been really good. His communication is awesome. And I know that for guys like me and Seifert, who want to play as many tournaments as we can and play international cricket, it's hard to navigate. But I think we've been doing it really well at the moment. And yeah, it's still international cricket that's the number one thing for me and wanting to win a World Cup is my main priority. So again, it's just ongoing conversations to make sure we can navigate that in the right way. And yeah, hopefully bring one of those trophies home one day,” he added.
