Christchurch, 23 October (H.S.): Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the second T20 International against New Zealand, scheduled for Saturday, October 24, after sustaining a strain in his right thigh muscle. The injury occurred during the opening match of the series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Friday. The Indian team’s medical staff is monitoring his condition.

Kishan’s injury had prompted India to make changes to its batting order during the first T20I. Tilak Varma was promoted to his usual No. 3 position, while Kishan came in at No. 5. However, Kishan managed just one run off three balls before being caught near the boundary off Mitchell Santner’s bowling. Tilak also struggled to make an impact, scoring six runs off 11 deliveries before falling to Michael Bracewell.

Following the opening match, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak told reporters at a press conference that Kishan had sustained a muscle strain near his waist. He clarified that the change in the batting order was not a tactical decision but had been necessitated by Kishan’s injury. At the time, Kotak had indicated that the wicketkeeper-batter might miss one match.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi is now in contention to replace Kishan in the playing XI. Suryavanshi has been left out of India’s starting line-up in the previous four T20 Internationals. However, he featured in both the semi-final and the final during India’s gold-medal-winning campaign at the Asian Games.

Kotak said that if Kishan failed to regain full fitness and the medical team did not clear him to play, Suryavanshi would be among the options available as a specialist batter. He described the young player as a strong contender for the role. Shivam Dube is another batter in India’s squad, although he is primarily a pace-bowling all-rounder.

India began the series with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the opening T20I, successfully chasing a target of 226 with two balls to spare. Sanju Samson led the charge with an impressive 67 off 33 deliveries, while Shreyas Iyer contributed 42 off 28 balls. Naman Dhir also played a crucial role, remaining unbeaten on 42 off just 15 deliveries.

The second match of the series will also be played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The two teams will then face each other in Wellington on October 27, Auckland on October 30 and Hamilton on November 1. Following the five-match T20 International series, India and New Zealand are scheduled to play five One-Day Internationals and two Test matches.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar