Kumar Kushagra has been added to India’s T20I squad for the second match of the New Zealand series as a cover for the injured Ishan Kishan. The 22-year-old wicketkeeper is already in Christchurch, as part of the India A squad, and will take the team for the second T20I, scheduled in the same city on Saturday.
This is the maiden T20I call-up for Kushagra. The young Gujarat Titans batter previously got into the ODI team for the fourth and fifth matches of the series.
“Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan sustained a low-grade right adductor strain during the first T20I against New Zealand and is ruled out of the second T20I to be played on Saturday,” the BCCI said in a statement. “The Men’s Selection Committee has added Kumar Kushagra to the squad as cover
for the second T20I. Kushagra, who is currently in Christchurch with the India A squad, will join the India squad for the second T20I. The BCCI Medical Team continues to monitor Kishan’s progress.”
It needs to be seen if Kushagra plays in the match, for batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Friday suggested that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was in line to return to the 11.
India’s updated squad for 2nd T20I: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson [WK], Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Tilak Varma [VC], Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Kumar Kushagra [WK]
All you need to know about Kumar Kushagra
Born on October 23, 2004, Kushagra has scored 2,507 runs in 38 first-class matches at an average of over 42. A middle-order batter capable of playing between No. 3 and No. 6, he first made headlines in 2022 by scoring 266 against Nagaland in the Ranji Trophy. At 17 years and 141 days, he became the youngest batter to score 250 runs in first-class cricket.
Inspired by MS Dhoni, Kushagra took up wicketkeeping at the age of 10 and was part of India’s squad for the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. He also impressed in the 2023 Deodhar Trophy, scoring 227 runs at an average of 56.75.
Delhi Capitals signed him for Rs 7.2 crore at the 2024 IPL auction, but he managed just three runs in four appearances. The Titans subsequently acquired him for Rs 65 lakh in 2025 and retained him for 2026.
Kushagra enjoyed an impressive 2025-26 season, scoring 422 runs in 10 matches as Jharkhand won their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He smashed 81 off 38 balls in the final and scored 234 against Baroda in the Ranji Trophy. He later struck a century in the Duleep Trophy final for East Zone and scored 113 for India A against Australia A in Puducherry.
