Wellington: India will be without Ishan Kishan for the third T20I against New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday, with the BCCI confirming on Monday that the wicketkeeper-batter has not recovered in time from the injury that has kept him out since the opening match of the series.
Kishan sustained a low-grade right adductor strain during the first T20I in Christchurch and subsequently missed the second match as well. In its update, the board said Kishan was recovering well but added: “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 his progress, and Kumar Kushagra, who was called up as his back-up ahead of the second T20I, will continue to be with the squad for the Wellington game.
Kishan’s continued absence keeps the focus on India’s No. 3 position. In the second T20I, the team management turned to teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in that role, but the youngster, who has batted as an opener throughout his senior career, managed only 4 off 8 balls before falling as India chased 181. India still won by four wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, but the experiment has drawn scrutiny.
Former cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Kartik have both suggested that India are using Sooryavanshi in the wrong position. Ashwin felt the teenager looked like a fish out of water walking in during the sixth over at No. 3 and that, in his view, a young batter in that situation needs a senior partner to calm him down. Kartik echoed the sentiment, arguing that if Sooryavanshi is picked, he should open the batting, where he is at his best. One option discussed is to move Sooryavanshi to the top of the order and have the experienced Sanju Samson fill the No. 3 void left by Kishan.
India have not indicated whether they will persist with Sooryavanshi at No. 3 or reshuffle the order for Wellington, where a win on Tuesday would seal the series with two matches to spare. Kishan’s next chance of a return would be the fourth T20I in Auckland on October 30, subject to him proving his fitness to the medical team.
