Ishan Kishan is out of the second T20I with an adductor strain, and Sooryavanshi has sat out India’s last six games
The BCCI says Kishan hurt his right adductor in Thursday’s series opener at Hagley Oval. India have not named a replacement for Saturday, and the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the closest fit in the squad.
Oct 23, 2026
Ishan Kishan lasted three balls in Thursday’s chase in Christchurch, and he will not get another go on Saturday. The BCCI said on Friday that he has a low-grade right adductor strain from the series opener and will miss the second T20I against New Zealand at Hagley Oval.
The board’s medical team is monitoring him. It gave no timeline for his return, so the third game in Wellington on 27 October is not ruled out yet. Saturday is, and India have to change a winning XI.
A quiet night for Kishan
India chased 226 on Thursday and won by four wickets with two balls left. Kishan had very little to do with it. He batted at No. 5, with Tilak Varma moved up to No. 3, and Mitchell Santner had him caught for 1 off three balls. Sanju Samson’s 67 off 33 and Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 42 off 15 did the heavy lifting.
That is not the Kishan India usually get. He made 54 off 25 in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad in March. In the Asian Games semi-final against Sri Lanka on 1 October he came in at No. 5 on a turning pitch and finished on 80 not out off 46, nearly half of India’s 169 for 7. Two days later India beat Pakistan for the gold.
Is this Sooryavanshi’s chance?
The obvious candidate is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He is 15, has played eight T20Is and scored 246 runs at a strike rate of 186.36, with a top score of 81. He opened in the semi-final and final at the Asian Games in Japan, making 38 off 21 and then 15. He has been out of the side for India’s last six T20Is.
Shreyas Iyer has not hidden why. Samson and Abhishek Sharma are scoring consistently at the top, and the captain said this week that Sooryavanshi will have to be patient. Samson’s innings on Thursday did not make that case any weaker, and by Friday the team management had not said who would come in.
The only other batter in the squad is Shivam Dube, and he is not a straight swap. He is a seam-bowling all-rounder who would change the balance of the side. Sooryavanshi is the closer fit as a batter, but Kishan batted at No. 5 on Thursday, and India would have to decide whether a 15-year-old opener goes in there or someone else moves down to make room at the top.
When and where
The second T20I starts at 8pm local time on Saturday 24 October, which is 12:30pm IST. India lead the five-match series 1-0. After Christchurch the teams go to Wellington, then Auckland on 30 October and Hamilton on 1 November, before five ODIs and two Tests.