Why is Ishan Kishan not playing today's NZ vs IND 2026 3rd T20I?

Team India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was unavailable for the third T20I of the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The match kicked off in Wellington on Tuesday, October 27.

Kishan was ruled out of the second T20I after he sustained a low-grade right adductor strain in the opening encounter. Kumar Kushagra was added to the squad as his injury cover.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the 28-year-old had been recovering well but is yet to gain match fitness. The board wrote on X:

"Ishan Kishan is recovering well from his low grade right adductor strain, which he sustained during the first T20I of the series against New Zealand. He is yet to regain match fitness and is ruled out of the third T20I to be played on October 27, 2026 in Wellington. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Ishan's progress. Kumar Kushagra will continue to be with the team for the third T20I."

Ishan Kishan batted at No. 5 instead of his usual No. 3 position in the first T20I due to the adductor strain. He scored one run off three balls before perishing to Mitchell Santner in the 11th over of the run chase.

Meanwhile, India lead the series 2-0, making the third T20I a must-win for the hosts.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi is expected to bat at No. 3 in Ishan Kishan's absence

Team India skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field first in the third T20I. The visitors made no changes to their playing XI. Vaibhav Suryavanshi batted at No. 3 in the second T20I, with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opening the batting.

Suryavanshi is expected to be the No. 3 in the ongoing encounter as well. Here are the playing XIs for the clash:

NZ: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher

IND: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav

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