India captain Suryakumar Yadav claimed that Ishan Kishan was always going to keep wickets ahead of Sanju Samson in the fifth T20I against New Zealand in Trivandrum. He said the team had planned to divide
the duties pre-series, with Samson asked to take the gloves in the first three and Kishan in the last two.
The move, soon after Kishan had hit a century in the first innings, seemed like confirmation that Samson would be dropped for India’s 2026 T20 World Cup opener against the USA on Saturday and that the team management wanted to give the former some practice in the role.
“I think both the keepers were playing since game one, as Tilak [Varma] was not available,” Suryakumar said. “So, we had decided before the series that three games will be kept by Sanju Samson and two games will be kept by Ishan. Ishan unfortunately missed the last game because of a niggle but he was anyway going to keep wickets in this match,” he added.
Kishan was picked as Samson’s backup for this series. However, Samson scuffed the opportunity to cement his place, scoring 46 runs at an average of 9.20, while Kishan grabbed the chance of batting in the top-three in Tilak’s absence with both hands, smashing 215 runs at 53.75 with a strike-rate of 231.18.
However, to add to Gautam Gambhir’s headache a bit, Kishan didn’t look completely at ease behind the stumps and missed a few chances.
Suryakumar Yadav issues updates on Tilak, Washington Sundar
The India skipper also gave positive updates on Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar, confirming that the former would feature in a couple of warm-up games in Mumbai.
“Tilak Verma…he has been shaping well. I heard he is playing 2 games in Bombay on the 2nd and the 4th. I think 2 games are enough. I spoke to him yesterday only. He has started batting, bowling, fielding and everything. So, hopefully, we should have him soon,” he said.
“I think Washy is also doing well. We spoke to both of them (Tilak and Washington) yesterday. Tilak is much better. Washy has almost started his bowling and batting. He is also looking good. Hopefully, we get him back soon,” he added.
