Ishan Kishan was a surprise selection in India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
Ishan Kishan has made a remarkable turnaround by making a timely comeback to India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad. He enjoyed a fabulous Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which forced the selectors to include him out of nowhere by dropping the likes of Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma.
For his terrific transformation, former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Ishank Jaggi deserves equal credit, for he worked on Kishan’s game and helped him improve technically. Jaggi has himself been one of the top Jharkhand cricketers and has closely followed his career since his debut in 2014.
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, he revealed that Ishan Kishan came to him for help during the Ranji Trophy last year, where he was clear on areas he wanted to improve. Jaggi added that he didn’t make any significant changes, and a few minor tweaks helped him regain his fluency across formats.
“So, last year, during the Ranji Trophy, there was a gap between a match, and he came up to me and said, ‘Bhaiya, I want to work on my batting’. He was very clear on the areas that he wants to improve, [and] what formats he is targeting. When a player has that clarity, then guiding the player becomes easier. I didn’t do anything out of the box. He has always had the mindset of an elite-level athlete. It was a matter of very minor tweaks. There weren’t any major changes.”
When Ishan Kishan was completely discarded from the Indian setup, his return looked tricky, but performances make the selectors overlook everything, which happened in his case. Last year, he amassed a terrific Duleep Trophy century against India B on his First Class return and later also hit a hundred in the Ranji Trophy.
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Kishan was also the second-leading run-getter for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year, with 316 runs at an average of 45.14 and a strike rate of 128.45 in seven outings, comprising a century. He was also decent in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024, averaging 32.20 and striking at 167.70 across six innings.
Later, at the IPL 2025 auction, Ishan Kishan earned a whopping INR 11.25 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and did reasonably well in the season, hitting one fifty and a century. Then came his best phase – Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 – where the southpaw was the leading run-getter, with 517 runs at an average of 57.44 and a strike rate of 197.32 in 10 outings, including two fifties and as many centuries, and led Jharkhand to their maiden title.
All these performances, combined with his batting pedigree and wicketkeeping skills, were too tempting to ignore for the selectors, especially with Shubman Gill’s T20I form remaining unconvincing. Ishan Kishan didn’t just knock on the door; he broke it down to reclaim the place he always belonged, even after a long and strenuous road back.
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