World No1 T20I batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of second match against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday due to a right abductor injury
Updated: October 23, 2026, 10:51 AM IST
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Team India batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of 2nd T20I vs New Zealand(Photo: IANS)
IND vs NZ 2026 2nd T20: Indian cricket team created history on Thursday, posting their biggest-ever win while chasing in T20I cricket to beat New Zealand by four wickets in the 1st T20I match at the Hagley Oval in ChristchurchShreyas Iyer’s side are 1-0 up in the five-match T20I series with the second game set to take place at the same venue on Saturday but they will miss the services of world No1 T20I batter Ishan Kishan for the contest.
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of Saturday’s second T20I against New Zealand due to a right adductor strain that he sustained during the series-opener on Thursday“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.
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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 Medical Team is monitoring his progress.
#TeamIndia | #NZvIND https://t.co/QbZpuVh1hQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 23, 2026
The right abductor is a group of muscles located on the inner side of the thighThe BCCI did not specify how long it would take for Kishan to recoverWith Kishan ruled out, it will open the doors for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to return to the playing 11 for the first time after the Asian Games 2026 gold medal match in Japan last month.
Tilak Varma batted at No3 position due to Ishan Kishan’s injury
Team India vice-captain Tilak Varma batted at the No3 position and struggled to score 6 off 11 balls, chasing 226 to win on ThursdayTeam India assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak revealed that Tilak was elevated due to injury to Ishan Kishan.
“There was a lot of speculation I have also seenHe (Tilak Varma) just batted there because Ishan had a strain in his groin, the batting order was changedIt is unlikely Ishan will play tomorrow’s match as well,” Kotak said in the pre-match press conference.
The assistant coach also added that Kishan’s absence could ‘definitely’ mean an opportunity for 15-year-old Sooryavanshi“If Ishan doesn’t play, unless he recovers completely, which the medical team will advise — Vaibhav could definitely step in for himHe is one of the strongest contenders,” Kotak said.
Sooryavanshi has only played in 8 out of 22 T20I matches that Team India have played since the T20 World Cup 2026The Rajasthan Royals opener’s only international appearances have been in England, Zimbabwe and Asian Games in Japan.
Kishan was India’s leading run-scorer in T20I cricket this year with 1159 runs in 35 matches at an average of 36.21 at a strike-rate of 171.44 with 1 hundred and 7 fifties in 2026The Jharkhand wicketkeeper, who was retained for Rs 11.25 crore by Kavya Maran’s SRH ahead of IPL 2026 season, needs only six runs to surpass Suryakumar Yadav’s record (1164 runs in 2022) for most runs by an Indian in T20I cricket in a calendar year.
Sooryavanshi, on the other hand, has scored 246 runs in 8 T20I matches at an average of 30.75 with a strike-rate of 186.36 with 2 fifties so far.
