Ishan Kishan is slated to bat at number three in the 1st T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand in Nagpur on Wednesday, captain Suryakumar Yadav has confirmed. Ishan was rewarded for his exceptional performance in the domestic circuit and will now return in India colours after November 2023.
“Ishan will bat at number 3 because he is a part of our T20 World Cup team and he was picked in the squad first so it’s our responsibility to give him a chance,” Surya was quoted as saying at the pre-match press conference.
“He hasn’t played for India for past one and half year and in the mean time consistently performed in domestic cricket,” the Indian skipper did not leave any room for guess work.
A first together in Indian blue 🇮🇳💙
[Ishan Kishan | Abhishek Sharma | Play With Fire | IND vs NZ] pic.twitter.com/n8boJqeVJD
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) January 20, 2026
“Since he (Ishan) has been picked for World T20, he deserves to play ahead (of Shreyas). Had it been a question of batting slots Nos 4 or 5, it would have been a different question altogether. Unfortunately, Tilak isn’t there so Ishan is our best bet,” he added.
Sound On 🔊
Dialling up the intensity as #TeamIndia steps into T20I mode to take on New Zealand ⚡️ #INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/RSE2DXLFXA
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 20, 2026
The aggressive right-handed batter also added that he is a bit more settled at number four and has got starts there.
“I have batted at both positions for India. My stats at No. 4 are sightly better although they are good at No. 3 also. But then we are flexible with that,” he said.
“We will see and if the situation demands that we have to send a right-hander (in case right hander Sanju Samson gets out), then, I will go in, otherwise Tilak (now injured) has been doing really well at number three.”
Ishan Kishan during practice today 😍#IshanKishan pic.twitter.com/c0Gszsv7v5
— Ayush Cricket (@AyushCricket32) January 20, 2026
Surya has had a lean patch with the bat in the recent past and addressing the same, he said, ““I’ve been out of runs. But I can’t change my identity. I have decided to keep doing what I have been doing in the last three or four years so that has given me a lot of success. If the performance comes, I’ll take it, if it doesn’t, it’s back to the drawing board. I’m still batting in the nets the way I always have.”
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