‘Ishan will bat at…’: India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirms major batting change for New Zealand T20s

Ishan Kishan will be making first appearance for India in over two years when the Men in Blue face New Zealand in the first of five T20Is in Nagpur on Wednesday, with captain Suryakumar Yadav confirming him for the No 3 spot ahead of Shreyas Iyer.

Both Kishan and Iyer had last represented India in the 20-over game during the five-match series against Australia at home in late 2023, with the former having not played international cricket since. Kishan, however, has since forced his way back into the Indian team's plans for the T20 World Cup with a brilliant run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in which he played a central role in delivering Jharkhand their maiden title.

And with Tilak Varma set to miss at least the first three T20Is against the Black Caps after undergoing testicular torsion surgery in Rajkot earlier this month, captain Surya and head coach Gautam Gambhir have decided to have him at the No 3 spot ahead of Iyer. Especially considering the fact that Kishan’s a like-for-like replacement for Tilak.

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“Ishan will bat at number 3 because he is a part of our T20 World Cup team and he was picked in the squad first so it’s our responsibility to give him a chance,” he said in the pre-match press conference.

“He hasn’t played for India for past one and half year and in the mean time consistently performed in domestic cricket,” the Indian skipper did not leave any room for guess work.

“Since he (Ishan) has been picked for World T20, he deserves to play ahead (of Shreyas). Had it been a question of batting slots Nos 4 or 5, it would have been a different question altogether. Unfortunately, Tilak isn’t there so Ishan is our best bet,” he added.

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Iyer has not played a T20 since the Indian Premier League last year, in which he led Punjab Kings to the final for only the second time. The 31-year-old had been included along with leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for the T20I series against the Kiwis due to Tilak and spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar’s unavailability, the latter getting ruled out for the entire series.

Surya insists he’s flexible with his batting position

Surya added that while he remains flexible with his batting position and can come in at one-down if required, he prefers batting at the No 4 spot.

“I have batted at both positions for India. My stats at No. 4 are sightly better although they are good at No. 3 also. But then we are flexible with that,” he said.

“We will see and if the situation demands that we have to send a right-hander (in case right hander Sanju Samson gets out), then, I will go in, otherwise Tilak (now injured) has been doing really well at number three.”

The Mumbai Indians star, however, is also aware of his poor run with the bat in 2025, having scored just 218 runs across the year at an average and strike rate of 13.62 and 123.16 respectively.

The 35-year-old thus will be under tremendous pressure to deliver with the bat in the upcoming T20 World Cup if he is to remain part of India’s T20I plans going forward.

“I’ve been out of runs. But I can’t change my identity. I have decided to keep doing what I have been doing in the last three or four years so that has given me a lot of success.

“If the performance comes, I’ll take it, if it doesn’t, it’s back to the drawing board. I’m still batting in the nets the way I always have,” said Suryakumar.

‘If team wins, I am happy’

Surya added that he does not worry about his batting form as he cares about helping the Indian team win. While he has struggled with the bat of late, ‘SKY’ remains India’s most successful T20I captain ever in terms of win percentage (80.55), with India winning 30 out of 38 games under his leadership including a couple of Super Over wins.

“Had I been playing a single (individual) sport like TT or tennis, I would have worried about my form. But this is team sport and my first responsibility is to ensure that my team does well.

“If team wins, I am happy and if I can contribute in team’s success then fine and if not, doesn’t matter as it can happen. But I have to look at 14 other players also and there is no place for looking at personal milestones.”