IND vs NZ 1st T20 Playing 11: Indian T20 team captain Suryakumar Yadav has given an update on the playing XI for the first T20 match against New Zealand.

India Playing XI 1st T20: The first T20 match between India and New Zealand will be played on Wednesday, January 21st at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Before that, captain Suryakumar Yadav has provided a significant update on Team India's playing XI. Tilak Verma will be out of the T20 match due to injury, leaving the number 3 spot vacant. Suryakumar's statement suggests that Shreyas Iyer could be considered for the number 5 spot.

Tilak Varma underwent abdominal surgery, which ruled him out of the first three matches of the T20I series against New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer replaced him in the Indian squad for the first three matches.

Who will replace Tilak Varma?

In the press conference before the first T20I, captain Suryakumar Yadav said, "Ishan Kishan will bat at number 3 because he is part of our T20 World Cup squad. He was selected first in the squad, so it is our responsibility to give him the first chance. Ishan is part of the World Cup squad, so he deserves a chance before Shreyas."

Captain Suryakumar said that if the discussion was about the fourth and fifth order batsman, then perhaps other names (Shreyas Iyer) could have been considered, but in the absence of Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan seems to be the best option for number 3.

Suryakumar Yadav himself has been quite successful at number three in T20 matches. Asked about batting at number three, Surya said he wants to be prepared for any batting position.

India squad for New Zealand T20I series: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Axar Patel (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah , Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper) and Ravi Bishnoi