Ishan Kishan is reaping the rewards of his hard work after making his return to the Indian team earlier this year. The wicketkeeper-batter endured a difficult period away from international cricket, but consistent performances in domestic cricket eventually helped him earn his place back in the national setup. Ishan was dropped from the India squad after taking a break from international cricket in late 2023. He returned home from the South Africa tour and subsequently missed Ranji Trophy matches for Jharkhand.

He was also left without a BCCI central contract, making his road back to the Indian team even more challenging. Instead of allowing the setback to derail his career, Ishan returned to domestic cricket and focused on improving his game. His consistent performances eventually earned him a recall for the New Zealand T20I series, and he has continued to make the most of his opportunity.

Ishan Kishan admitted that his time away from the Indian team made him understand the consequences of his mistakes. Speaking on JioHotstar, he explained how he used the period to work on his fitness, batting and overall approach. “When I was dropped from the international team, I understood the consequences of a few mistakes that I had made. So, I worked on my fitness and my batting. I stayed patient and focused on rectifying my mistakes by doing well in domestic cricket,” Ishan said.

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The 27-year-old also revealed that he always believed strong performances in domestic cricket would eventually open the door to an international comeback.

“I knew if I kept performing in domestic cricket, the opportunity would come and I earned the recall to the national squad because of my hard work. Once you come back to the side, you don’t think about what’s going to happen if I get dropped again. The most important thing is to enjoy cricket and just focus on doing the best I can to contribute to the success of the team,” he added.

🔴I WASN’T IN GREAT TOUCH – ISHAN KISHAN 🤯

Ishan said🎙️: He realised his partner was timing the ball better than him, while he wasn’t in the best touch. So, instead of forcing his own shots, he decided to keep his partner on strike and maintain the momentum. 🔥 https://t.co/3WcCuNJmfK

— Sam (@cricsam02) October 6, 2026

Ishan then played a crucial supporting role alongside India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer during the first T20I against West Indies in Lucknow. The pair added an unbeaten 137-run partnership as India chased down 172 with ease.

While Ishan Kishan contributed, Iyer took centre stage with an unbeaten maiden T20I century. Ishan admitted he had no problem taking a back seat when his partner is in exceptional touch.

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“As a batter, when I’m not looking in that great of a touch and the batter at the other end is looking in great form and is connecting the ball well, in this case Shreyas Iyer, then I don’t mind playing second fiddle at all,” he said.

Ishan added that Iyer was striking the ball so well that his role was simply to support him and allow the captain to attack the West Indies bowlers. The approach worked perfectly as India completed a comfortable chase and took an early lead in the series. If you want, I can also suggest an SEO heading, meta description and tags using keywords such as Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Comeback.