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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prince Yadav have returned to the playing XI as the India National Cricket Team has won the toss and elected to bowl first in the second T20I against the New Zealand National Cricket Team at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday (October 24).
Captain Shreyas Iyer has decided to chase, with Dew expected to play a big role in the second T20I between India and New Zealand at Hagley Oval. India has made two changes to their playing XI. Earlier, Senior India players refused rest for West Indies T20Is despite BCCI’s request.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to bat at No. 3 against New Zealand
The biggest talking point is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's batting position, as the teenage batting sensation has been denied the opening spot. Indian captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed that the left-hander will bat at No. 3 against the Black Caps at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Iyer said that Vaibhav has replaced the injured Ishan Kishan in the playing XI. Another change is that Prince Yadav returned to the playing XI in place of Mayank Yadav as a tactical change for the second T20I against the Black Caps in Christchurch on Saturday.
Shreyas Iyer said at the toss, “Ishan is injured, so Vaibhav comes in for him. Prince comes in for Mayank, which is just a tactical change. He is going to bat at number three.”
#TeamIndia opt to bowl first in the 2️⃣nd T20I Vaibhav Sooryavanshi & Prince Yadav back in the XI 📝 Updates ▶️ https://t.co/FZtUFIFWS2 #NZvIND https://t.co/VCof26ERFg
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 24, 2026
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returns as Ishan Kishan gets injured
Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the second T20I against New Zealand after suffering a low-grade right adductor strain, a groin injury, during the first T20I match in Christchurch. On the other hand, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned to the India XI after missing the last six T20I matches.
It will be interesting to see how the left-hander fares at the new batting position, as he is mainly the top-order batter. Vaibhav has only opened the batting in his career so far in the junior cricket, domestic cricket, IPL, and even for the Indian team in the shorter format of the game.
Shreyas Iyer reveals what India must get right
Meanwhile, Iyer stressed the importance of maintaining an aggressive approach while staying proactive in the field and avoiding situations where India needs an extra fielder inside the circle.
The Indian captain further added, “We have had a little bit of time to recover and catch up on some sleep. Everyone is in decent shape, I would say. Some of the players, including myself, do their training on match day. So, we are in a good place.
It is important to maintain the aggression and repeat the things we did well in the first game. In addition, we need to be proactive in the field and ensure we don't have an extra fielder inside the circle, especially in the last over.”
Playing XIs for second India vs New Zealand T20I:
India’s Playing XI:
Sanju Samson (w), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
New Zealand Playing XI:
Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson
