Ishan Kishan’s return could see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi being dropped for 4th T20I vs New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.
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Ishan Kishan (left) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at a training session at Eden Park in Auckland on Thursday(Source: X)
India vs New Zealand 2026 4th T20: Shreyas Iyer and Team India are faced with a problem of plenty ahead of the 4th T20 match against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on FridayThe visitors have already clinched the five-match T20I series by take a 3-0 lead after the first three matches.
But with wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan getting fit and looking ready to return to the playing 11, the Indian skipper and team management will be wondering how to retain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the sideThe 15-year-old opener smashed a blazing 45 off 19 balls and put on 133 runs for the opening wicket with Abhishek Sharma at a run-rate of more than 18 runs per over.
The Sooryavanshi-Abhishek partnership completely took the game away from New Zealand in the 3rd T20 in Wellington, racing past 50 in 2.2 over and bringing up 100 in 5 oversBut if Kishan returns to the side, after missing the last two matches due to right abductor strain, Sooryavanshi may have to be dropped again.
It is unlikely that Naman Dhir or Tilak Varma or Nitish Kumar Reddy will be left out from the sideOne option could be to rest Sanju Samson and play Ishan Kishan as the wicketkeeper, since Indians have already won the T20I seriesBut with Kishan returning from injury, the Indian team think-tank will not like to put additional burden on him.
In the bowling department, India have been playing with only specialist spinner in all-rounder Axar Patel, who has proven to be very expensive at 9.5 runs per over in the T20I seriesIt will be interesting to see if one of the three pacers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh or Prince Yadav – will be dropped to play Kuldeep Yadav or Varun Chakravarthy as the additional spinner.
Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand will also be forced to make at least one change to their playing 11 from the last matchKyle Jamieson is not available for selection for the last two T20I matches apart from Matt Henry and Lockie FergusonNathan Smith may return to the side to replace Jamieson while Blair Tickner could be on option to replace Jacob Duffy, who has proven to be very costly in the first few matches including conceding 26 runs in first over in third T20I at Wellington.
ICYMI: ABHI SHOW
Launched balls into the stands, left the Kiwi bowlers searching for answers, and then sat down like it was just another day at the office♂️
Watch the HERO VIDA India Tour of New Zealand, 4th T20I on 30th Oct, 11:30 AM onwards, LIVE on Sony Sports Network TV channels, Sony LIV & Sony Vizha.
#SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV #SonyVizha #NZvIND
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) October 29, 2026
India vs New Zealand 2026 4th T20I match Predicted 11
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson/ Ishan Kishan (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav/Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Fisher, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy
