Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's inclusion in the second T20I against New Zealand has been a major talking point amongst the cricketing fraternity. The second match of the T20I series between India and New Zealand is set to take place on Saturday, October 24, in Christchurch.
Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the match due to an injury. Now the question arises, will the 15-year-old prodigy be making it to the XI? In this article, we will be exploring the chances of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi playing in the XI.
Will Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Play the 2nd T20I?
Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the match. The chances are very high that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be playing the match as his replacement, with India's bowling department seeming unlikely to have any changes. The same goes for the all-rounders, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Axar Patel expected to stay in their places.
So, the only thing left is a proper batter replacing Ishan Kishan. As of now, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi seems like a perfect replacement for Ishan. Both are left-handed batters, have a stellar ability in the shortest format of the game, can hit big runs and also bat in the top order. All these things make it highly probable that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is going to make it into the XI.
India's Probable Playing XI for 2nd T20I: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav
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What Did Sitanshu Kotak Say About Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Inclusion?
Meanwhile, yesterday, India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak told reporters that India will look to try a different combination, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's inclusion is not guaranteed.
“There is a lot of speculation in social media about the three openers. So, sometimes, social media should also appreciate that the team management calls are for the good of the team. Because, people want to play their own 11. It doesn't work like that,” as reported by TOI.
He also stressed that the team management makes decisions in the team's best interests rather than according to social media demands.
Despite the comments, the combination seems to favour Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the better replacement for Ishan Kishan. It will be interesting to see if India opt for any other combination in this crucial match. The final update will come during the toss time.
Also READ:India vs New Zealand T20I Series 2026: Schedule, Head-to-Head, Squads and Where to Watch