Ishan Kishan ruled out of 2nd T20I against New Zealand, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi “strong contender” to replace him

Kolkata : Indian start Batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the 2nd T20I against New Zealand due to a low-grade right adductor strain that he sustained during series opener against New Zealand which India won by 4 wickets recording thier highest successful run chase in T20I history on October 22.

“Ishan Kishan is ruled out of the second T20I against New Zealand due to a low grade right adductor strain, which he sustained during the first T20I of the series,” the BCCI statement read.

“The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress,” it added.

Kishan’s right adductor – which is a group of muscles located on the inner side of the thigh is injured and BCCI didn’t confirm officially how long it will take for him to recover.

India’s Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed that Kishan’s injury was the main reason behind him coming out to bat at No.5 instead of his usual No.3 spot.

“There was a lot of speculation I have also seen, just because Ishan had a strain in his groin, the batting order was changed,” Kotak told reporters, adding that it is “unlikely he will play tomorrow’s match as well”.

Kotak also confirmed that in absence of Kishan, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a “strong contender”, might replace him in the 2nd T20I.

“If Ishan doesn’t play, unless he recovers completely, which the medical team will advise, Vaibhav could definitely step in for him. He is one of the strongest contenders,” he added.

Vaibhav had mixed patch of form in recent outings for India having featured in Asian Games 2026 Gold medal winning campaign where he scored 53 runs in 2 games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He then warmed the bench for the five-match T20I series against the West Indies.

Ahead of the series opener against New Zealand, skipper Shreyas Iyer had said that Sooryavanshi needs to wait for his opportunity as the team already has two consistent openers in the form of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.

“He is very young; he has more years to get opportunities. It’s not like he can walk in right now, because our openers are scoring consistently, and they have won the World Cup,” Iyer had told reporters before the first T20I.

“So, if you see, when he is coming overseas, he will get a fair idea how to play on these particular wickets. Next time, whenever he comes under these conditions, he will be very well prepared. And he can also instruct the other team members, whoever comes here for the first time,” he added.

The youngster has featured in 8 T20Is for India scoring 246 runs with 2 half centuries in Zimbabwe tour. He is set to replace Ishan Kishan but the position where the 3 openers – Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav himself will shuffle amongst themselves is to be confirmed.