Bhuvneshwar Kumar left out of India XI for fourth T20I at Eden Park

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been omitted from India's XI for the fourth T20 International against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland on Friday, October 30. India surprised many with the selection announcement ahead of the match in the five-game series.

Kumar had returned to the squad after four long years and was widely expected to feature across the five T20Is. He looked out of sorts in the first three matches of the series, was taken to cleaners in all three games and managed just one wicket. The exact reason behind his omission is not known, but it can be assumed that he has been dropped due to form.

For the fourth T20I, Bhuvneshwar has been replaced by Mayank Yadav. There is also a change in the top order with Ishan coming back in for Vaibhav. Speaking at the toss, captain Shreyas Iyer said: See, it’s important to be ruthless irrespective of whatever the result has been so far. And the boys have been given the same message. You got to be unruffled irrespective of what the occasion is. And I feel everyone is in high spirits.

On pitch conditions at Eden Park, Iyer added: "[On today’s pitch] You never know. There is decent amount of grass, so definitely expecting bounce and seam movement as well." He confirmed the team changes with: "[Changes?] Yeah, we’ve got two changes. Ishan comes back in for Vaibhav and Mayank comes in for Bhuvi."

The fourth T20I is the penultimate match of the five-game series. India enter the game holding a 3-0 lead.