India drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as Ishan Kishan recalled for 4th T20I at Eden Park
India made two changes to their XI for the fourth T20I against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on October 30, 2026, replacing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with Ishan Kishan and bringing Mayank Yadav in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar; India won the toss and chose to bowl and have already sealed the series after three consecutive wins. The selection switch that left the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi out of the playing XI has prompted debate given his form in the previous match.
Mayank Yadav replaced veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar after the latter appeared below par across the first three games, while the batting change saw Ishan Kishan come in for Sooryavanshi. In the preceding T20I, Sooryavanshi produced a 45-off-19 cameo featuring four fours and four sixes and combined with Abhishek Sharma for a 133-run stand in 7.1 overs that helped India post their highest powerplay score.
The Indian management opted for Kishan’s experience over Sooryavanshi despite Eden Park being described as a very small venue where Sooryavanshi would have been dangerous for New Zealand. Ishan Kishan is returning from injury and has had limited match time in the series: he scored 1 off 3 balls in the first T20I and did not play in the second and third games.
Sooryavanshi, who earned his T20I cap on the back of his striking in the Indian Premier League, has shown further promise with some strong knocks at international level but has been sidelined with Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan all available to India. The 15-year-old’s omission follows the availability of those senior options.
Several Indian batters have produced patchy returns in the series: both Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been described as a little scratchy, while Sanju produced an incredible innings in the first game to win Man of the Match before scoring 14 off 17 and 18 off 13 in his next two outings. Those recent scores have been cited as context for concerns about top-order form.
India have been strong with the bat so far in the series and will seek another substantial batting display at Eden Park to secure a win in the fourth game; Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are set to open and Ishan Kishan is slated to bat at No. 3. Team management have also indicated a desire to get Kishan into the XI despite his limited T20 minutes in this tour.
India have confirmed the change — replacing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with Ishan Kishan — as a measure to give Kishan game time to prepare for the upcoming ODI series.