Left-handed batter Ishan Kishan will miss the third T20I against New Zealand as a precautionary measure after sustaining a low-grade right adductor strain in the series opener.
“Ishan Kishan is unavailable for the 3rd T20I. He's here to train and is doing well. But his unavailability is mostly precautionary,” India bowling coach Morne Morkel said at the pre-match press conference.
BCCI stated in its release that Kishan is ‘recovering well’ at the moment. “He is yet to regain match fitness and is ruled out of the third T20I to be played on October 27, 2026 in Wellington. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Ishan's progress," read the statement.
Kishan featured in India's historic T20I chase in the series opener at Hagley Oval last Thursday, when the visitors chased down a target of 226 to register their highest successful run chase in the format. He sustained the injury during that match and subsequently missed the second T20I.
Kumar Kushagra was added as cover for the second game, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was handed an opportunity in the playing XI.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar Kushagra was added as cover for the second game, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was handed an opportunity in the playing XI.
{{/usCountry}}It was Sooryavanshi's first appearance since the Asian Games. However, batting at No. 3, the teenager managed just four runs off eight balls. The third T20I in Wellington offers Sooryavanshi another opportunity to make an impression, with Kishan yet to recover.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, however, questioned the decision to promote the teenager to No. 3 in the second match. He felt Sooryavanshi would have been more comfortable at the top of the order, having opened during India's gold-medal-winning campaign at the Asian Games.
“That is a miss. For a young cricketer like Vaibhav, ‘miss’ is too early, I think, to say, but because I have only two options of a hit or a miss, he just found himself a little like a fish out of water. He kept going hard, kept going hard for the eight balls,” Ashwin told the broadcaster after the match.
Ashwin suggested that India consider reverting to the combination used during the Asian Games, with Sooryavanshi opening alongside Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson moving down to No. 3.
“Look, I think they played this combination before, and Sanju had to skip down to number three. If they are going to go with this combination, I am not too sure Vaibhav has got to bat at number three, but it is what it is. Today it was a miss for Vaibhav,” Ashwin added.