'Delighted...Extremely Happy': Ishan Kishan Left Overjoyed After Storming Back Into India's 2026 T20 WC Squad

Ishan Kishan is back in blue.

The left-hander has earned a surprise T20 World Cup recall after the BCCI named India’s 15-man squad, with Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma missing the cut.

Kishan’s return is powered by a blistering Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he captained Jharkhand to their maiden title and topped the run charts. Back in the national reckoning after months in the wilderness, the 26-year-old couldn’t hide his delight.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar | On his comeback to India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Indian cricketer Ishan Kishan says, “I am very happy…” pic.twitter.com/R2oKsCd9U2

— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2025

“I am delighted. I’ve heard the news, and it makes me feel extremely happy,” Kishan told ANI.

Out of the picture

for months, Kishan forced the selectors’ hand the only way possible — by scoring runs. Plenty of them. He finished SMAT as the tournament’s leading run-getter with 571 runs, including a statement century, and will don India colours for the first time since the 2023 T20I against Australia in Guwahati.

India, meanwhile, head into the World Cup under Suryakumar Yadav with a bold, aggressive squad stacked with firepower and spin options — and notably without one of their most elegant batters.

The Men in Blue begin their T20 World Cup campaign on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium against the United States, before group-stage clashes with Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands.

India’s squad for the 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.