Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned to India’s playing XI for the second T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday. He replaced the injured Ishan Kishan but batted at number three instead of his usual opening spot. Captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field, citing dew as a factor.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned to India's playing XI for the second T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday, but the teenage sensation will have to wait for another opportunity to open the innings after being slotted in at number three.
India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field, citing dew as one of the factors behind the decision. Sooryavanshi came into the side in place of the injured Ishan Kishan, with India opting to retain their existing opening combination.
NZ vs IND 2nd T20I: Updates | Scorecard
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed earlier that Kishan sustained a low-grade right adductor strain during the series opener, ruling him out of the second match. Kishan had been pushed down to number five in the batting order in the first T20I, with Tilak Varma moving up to number three.
Sooryavanshi's return, therefore, offers an opportunity to see how the young batter adapts to a position he rarely occupies in T20 cricket.
HAS VAIBHAV BATTED AT NO.3 BEFORE?
According to ESPNcricinfo, Sooryavanshi's only previous outing at number three came during a Youth Test against Australia Under-19 in Mackay in October 2025. He scored 20 off 14 balls in the first innings before returning to his usual opening position in the second innings, where he was dismissed for a first-ball duck.
The move also fits into head coach Gautam Gambhir's broader approach to India's T20 batting order. Gambhir has maintained that, apart from the opening pair, the remaining batters should be flexible and ready to adapt to the demands of a match.
Sooryavanshi will now have a chance to test that flexibility at the international level, with his return to the side bringing a fresh talking point to the second T20I.
New Zealand made one change, bringing in Jacob Duffy for Adam Milne. Captain Mitchell Santner said the switch was part of a rotation plan for the seamers, with a busy Test schedule approaching.
NZ vs IND 2nd T20I PLAYING XIs
India's Playing XI: Sanju Samson(WK), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(C), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
New Zealand Playing XI: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert(WK), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(C), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson