4 min readFeb 15, 2026 08:36 PM IST
First published on: Feb 15, 2026 at 08:36 PM IST
Runs have flown at such a relentless rate from Ishan Kishan’s bat since his return to the India team that it feels difficult to fathom that he spent two years without a trace of his name in conversations regarding international cricket. It needed an immeasurable amount of fortune and runs in domestic cricket at the right time for Ishan to be named in the squad for the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Against Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday, he put on another masterful T20 innings. His 40-ball 77 was not merely a bit of stat-padding. On a tacky pitch and having seen his partner in early destruction, Abhishek Sharma, depart for a duck in the first over, he manipulated fields and stepped out his crease with abandon, while his assessment of the conditions and ease in stroke play spoke volumes of his confidence and form. It was his third fifty, to go with a maiden century in this format, in seven outings since the start of the year.
And he was so nearly never going to make it. Fortune smiled on him, and with it, on India, in a manner so neat and tidy that it feels impossible not to suggest things are falling perfectly into place for India’s crack unit bidding to become the first team in this competition’s history to defend their title.
Three months ago, Shubman Gill held an uncompromising sway over Indian cricket. Having been named vice-captain, even in the shortest format where attacking batting does not come so naturally to him, his place looked unshakeable. But his form was dire. The low scores and struggles coincided with skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s similar slump at the time. One head had to roll and it couldn’t be the captain’s. Had Gill even had mediocre outings with the bat, a decent score here and there, he would have kept his place.
But Kishan was never the natural replacement. Sanju Samson was supposed to fill the gap as he had done over the previous year; Kishan was called upon only as his back up at the top of the order. But Samson’s form too took a nosedive, at the same time when luck struck again as Tilak Varma’s niggle allowed Kishan to get a chance. Few outings were enough proof that there is no stopping him.
Fortune has favoured the brave here. Luck wasn’t the only deciding factor for Kishan’s sudden ascension; it was a transformation in character. Having to toil on the domestic circuit to prove oneself, having seen heady IPL nights and shone in India colours, can be damning for confidence. Kishan took it in his stride, top scoring in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy with 517 runs in 10 innings, leading Jharkhand to a rare domestic T20 title. It made the selectors sit up and take notice.
The two years he spent in the wilderness, after his request for a mental health break went awry, was a period of introspection. “I’m a changed man now,” he told reporters after another match-winning innings in New Delhi. “I don’t get into it too much. I do enjoy jokes and everything, I still do it. But earlier, I used to do it 24×7. Now, let’s say it’s only a few hours a day. More time and energy has been spent concentrating on my batting and wicketkeeping.”
Regained seriousness has not taken the joy out of him entirely. “Everything (other than cricket) is secondary. Especially under Gautam (Gambhir) bhai,” he added, not able to resist lightening the conversation.
This light-heartedness has shown up in his brilliant innings this year. So has the new-found steel. Both are combining perfectly to power India’s World Cup campaign so far.
India's Ishan Kishan plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) 
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