'The way he performed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and led Jharkhand to their maiden title, even the selectors couldn't let go of his performance'
Ishan Kishan’s return to the Indian T20 setup is a story of timing, perseverance and a domestic season that selectors simply could not overlook.
Kishan’s coach Uttam Majumdar believes the wicketkeeper-batter’s extraordinary Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) campaign -- where he led Jharkhand to their maiden title -- made his selection for the T20 World Cup inevitable.
“The way he performed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and led Jharkhand to their maiden title, even the selectors couldn't let go of his performance,” Majumdar said.
“I see this on a very positive note. His SMAT performance was brilliant. I kept telling him, Performance is everything. Even when he didn't get chances for two years in the Indian team, I always uplifted him mentally,” he added.
Kishan’s comeback caps a long and often uncomfortable journey back to favour. Towards the end of 2023, he stepped away from India’s tour of South Africa citing mental fatigue. What followed was a storm of debate when he also missed the Ranji Trophy, leading to his removal -- along with Shreyas Iyer -- from the BCCI’s central contracts list. The move was widely viewed as a message from the board on prioritising domestic cricket, though many felt it was harsh on the duo.
While both were reinstated in the 2024–25 season, Kishan still had to earn his way back the hard way. He returned to red-ball cricket, played county cricket, scored an IPL hundred on debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and then produced a sensational SMAT campaign -- 517 runs in 10 innings at an average of 57.44 and a strike rate north of 197, including two centuries and a match-winning hundred in the final against Haryana.
On Saturday, that grind came full circle when Kishan found his name back in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
While his domestic numbers made a compelling case, Kishan’s return has also coincided with a clear shift in India’s T20 thinking. Not long ago, Shubman Gill had been reinstated as T20I vice-captain and paired with Abhishek Sharma at the top -- a move seen as a signal of continuity. But the rapidly evolving demands of T20 cricket have forced a rethink.
India have now reverted to a strategy that prioritises an aggressive wicketkeeper-batter at the top of the order -- a role Kishan fits naturally into.
“With 517 runs including a century in the final for Jharkhand against Haryana, Kishan made a strong case just at the right time and found himself picked as the second wicketkeeper-batter’s slot.”
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar underlined that logic at the squad announcement press conference.
“He bats at the top in white-ball cricket. He's been in good form. He's played before for India. He has a double hundred in one-day cricket,” Agarkar said.
“He wasn't in the Indian team because there's a Rishabh Pant and a Dhruv Jurel ahead. They're two pretty good players,” he added.
Both captain Suryakumar Yadav and Agarkar made it clear that India have moved on from earlier experiments. With Sanju Samson and Kishan, the team believes it has the aggressive wicketkeeper-batting options needed to set the tone upfront.
India will stick with the players chosen during the early stages of the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand -- their final assignment before the men’s T20 World Cup -- as they look to settle on combinations.
Kishan may begin as the second wicketkeeper-batter, but given the momentum he carries, any opportunity that comes his way will be one he will be eager to seize with both hands.
© 2026