Sanju Samson Out, Ishan Kishan In: India's Probable XI For Fifth T20I Vs New Zealand

India will take on New Zealand in the fifth T20I on Saturday, January 31, at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, in what is a dead rubber but will hold quite a lot of significance for local lad Sanju Samson, who has not been in the best of touch of late.

Samson’s last four innings read 10, 6, 0 and 24 and that absolutely doesn’t augur well for him or for the team. He was given a permanent opening slot in place of Shubman Gill, who was dropped from the squad, but now Samson’s returns are raising eyebrows on his selection.

But there is a perfect foil for Samson. Ishan Kishan, who was out of the Indian team for over a year, has come back with a bang and although he missed out on the fourth T20I due to a ‘niggle’, has been

primed as the perfect opener alongside Abhishek Sharma.

Ishan trained ahead of the game, spending over an hour in the nets and facing both spin and pace without a break. His intensity during the session suggested he is fit and ready to return to the XI.

But with Samson being the home lad in the fifth T20I, it is a tad bit unlikely he will be dropped. But if he is indeed benched, Ishan might open with Abhishek and Shreyas Iyer might finally get some game time at No. 3.

All-rounder Axar Patel is in the mix for the final match of the series, with India looking to rest Pandya to manage his workload.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy, rested for the last two T20Is, has been bowling in the nets since the fourth game in Visakhapatnam and looks to be in good rhythm. His sustained workload and sharpness in practice could earn him a recall for the Thiruvananthapuram encounter.

India’s Probable XI For Fifth T20I Vs New Zealand: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh