Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who remained benched during the entire T20I assignment against West Indies and the opening match against the Kiwis, now stands on the brink of making it to India’s playing eleven for the second T20I after the BCCI confirmed that Ishan Kishan has been sidelined with a low-grade right adductor strain picked up in the series opener. In a media interaction on Friday, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak shed light on the tactical shift that saw Tilak Varma promoted to number three in the first game, attributing it to Ishan’s physical discomfort and indicating that the left-hander is unlikely to recover in time for Saturday’s clash. Although skipper Shreyas Iyer had previously dismissed talks of slotting Sooryavanshi into the top order given the steady performances of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma—choosing instead to view the tour as a learning curve for overseas conditions—the latest medical setback opens a potential door for the talented teenager to break into the side and fill the crucial vacancy left by Kishan.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in Line to Replace Injured Ishan Kishan for India’s Second T20I Against New Zealand
