Vaibhav Sooryavanshi omitted from India XI for fifth T20I vs New Zealand

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was omitted from India’s playing XI for the fifth T20I against New Zealand on October 30. Ishan Kishan retained his place in the side.

Kishan had returned to the XI after recovering from a low-grade right adductor strain and had replaced Sooryavanshi in the fourth T20I. New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl in the last game and said his side had made two changes, with Varun Chakravarthy replacing Axar Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returning in place of Mayank Yadav. Sooryavanshi had previously featured in the second and third T20Is as a replacement while Kishan was unavailable. Kishan is expected to bat at three, with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson taking the opening positions.

Sooryavanshi produced a notable cameo in the third T20I, scoring 45 off 19 balls with four fours and four sixes. In that match he and Abhishek Sharma added 133 runs in 7.1 overs, a partnership that helped India record the highest powerplay score.

India’s selected XI for the fifth T20I read: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been left out because Ishan Kishan has returned after recovering from a low-grade right adductor strain.

India will look to bounce back after losing the last game, while New Zealand will aim to finish the series on a high. The fifth T20I also gives the hosts another opportunity to test themselves against India’s aggressive batting approach.