Ishan Kishan is back in blue. The left-hander has earned a T20 World Cup recall as the BCCI unveiled India’s 15-man squad, with Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma missing out.
Kishan’s comeback is powered by
a blazing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he captained Jharkhand to their maiden title and topped the run charts.
Out of the picture for months, Kishan forced the selectors’ hand the hard way — by scoring runs. A lot of them. He finished SMAT as the tournament’s leading scorer with 571 runs, capped by a statement century, and will wear India colours for the first time since the 2023 T20I against Australia in Guwahati.
Unsurprisingly, the internet erupted.
Fans hailed Kishan’s redemption arc — from losing his spot across formats and his central contract, to grinding it out in domestic cricket and muscling his way back into a World Cup squad. Many called it overdue justice, others praised the selectors for backing form over reputation.
The wait was long, the grind was real… Welcome back, Ishan 🇮🇳
[Ishan Kishan | Play With Fire] pic.twitter.com/FLquzdUozi
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) December 20, 2025
– Dropped from the Test team.
– Dropped from the ODI team.
– Lost his national contract.
– Rumours about his commitment.
– Played domestic.
– Top scorer of 2025 SMAT.
– Won the SMAT as captain.
– Returned to India’s World Cup squad.THE REDEMPTION ARC OF ISHAN KISHAN. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/6tkGT9b9DE
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 20, 2025
Finally justice for Sanju and Ishan kishan 🔥🔥🔥#T20iWorldcup#IndianCricketTeam #Ishankishan#SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/oAXjAJDiuH
— Gareeblaal (@Levi20Man) December 20, 2025
Didnt expect the Gill and Ishan Kishan twist. Bold team selection! #T20WorldCup
— Whitewolf (@StupendouzMan) December 20, 2025
It’s Great team selection. #TeamIndia has Covered all their Bases .
ISHAN KISHAN deserved to be in squads. team looks More balanced and Flexible . #T20WorldCup2026 https://t.co/WzUbl8SW74— Shivam Tripathi (@ShivamUnfolded) December 20, 2025
India open their T20 World Cup campaign on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium against the United States, followed by group clashes against Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands.
India’s Squad for T20 World Cup 2026 & T20I Series vs New Zealand
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan.
