Ishan Kishan ruled out of third T20I against New Zealand with thigh injury

India have suffered a blow in the T20I series against New Zealand, with wicketkeeper and aggressive batter Ishan Kishan ruled out of the third match. The BCCI confirmed this on October 26. Ishan has not yet had full rest from the injury he sustained in the first match and is not fit to play.

The third T20 between India and New Zealand will be played in Wellington on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. According to the BCCI, Ishan has an injury to his right leg and a pulled muscle.

In an official statement, the BCCI said Ishan Kishan suffered a minor injury to his right thigh muscle during the first T20 of the series. He is recovering well from it. However, he is not yet fully fit and will therefore miss the third T20 in Wellington on October 27, 2026. The BCCI medical team is monitoring his recovery.

The positive news is that Ishan's condition is improving in the right direction. But the team management does not want to risk fielding him until he has fully recovered. No clear information has been given about his return.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi was given a chance in place of Ishan in the second match, but he was dismissed for just 4 runs. He is now likely to get another opportunity. Vaibhav may play again in the Wellington match, and fans are hoping for a big innings from him this time.

The BCCI has made clear that wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra will stay in the squad for the third match as well. He was added to the squad as a replacement for Ishan before the second match. It remains to be seen what strategy India adopt in the third T20 without Ishan.

India lead the five-match T20 International series 2-0. The team will now try to win the third match and take the series.

The India squad for the T20 International series against New Zealand comprises Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Kumar Kushagra.