Vaibhav Sooryavanshi left out of India XI for 1st T20I at Hagley Oval

India and New Zealand met in the first T20I of their five-match series at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on October 22, 2026; the match started at 12:30 PM IST / 8 PM local. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not named in India’s playing XI for the fixture.

India arrived in Christchurch after a drawn T20I series at home against West Indies and will look to regain momentum in the format; conditions in New Zealand differ from those in India. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is leading India’s pace attack and returns to the team after nearly four years. New Zealand have a full-strength squad, and their combination looks better than India’s at the moment; they will be looking to take the world champions down in this home series.

India won the toss and elected to field in the first T20I, and the side made no changes to its opening combination, leaving Sooryavanshi on the bench. The decision means the 15-year-old, who the report describes as an explosive opener, will again wait for a chance in the playing XI. Sooryavanshi had also missed all five matches of the preceding series against the West Indies.

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma were named as India’s opening pair for the match. Samson’s form since the T20 World Cup 2026 has been described as a little inconsistent. In the five-match T20I series against the West Indies, Samson scored 168 runs with scores of 11, 82, 3, 56, and 16, and India have chosen to retain him at the top of the order.

The report notes that Sooryavanshi has been effective in his opportunities but must continue to wait for further chances. On the selection issue, captain Shreyas Iyer said: “It’s important that a talent like him should always be happy around the dressing room. He is very young; he has more years to get opportunities. It’s not like he can walk in right now, because our openers are scoring consistently, and they have won the World Cup,” Iyer said.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is therefore not available for the first T20I as India have opted to open with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for the Christchurch fixture.