After spending more than two years away from the national setup, Ishan Kishan made a remarkable return to the Indian team in early 2026. The wicketkeeper-batter earned his place back in the squad following a sensational run with Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, where his explosive batting caught the attention of the selectors. Kishan’s comeback came when he was chosen for India’s five-match T20I series against the New Zealand national cricket team in January 2026.

Ishan Kishan was also included in the squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The decision raised eyebrows among fans and experts because the management preferred him over Jitesh Sharma, who had been part of India’s Asia Cup-winning squad the previous year. In a recent interview with PTI, India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav revealed that the decision to pick Kishan was largely driven by instinct. While data and team balance were considered, Surya admitted that it was ultimately a gut call.

ALSO READ: Zaheer Khan Picks All-Time Mumbai Indians XI Featuring Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler

“It (Ishan’s selection) was completely on gut and a little bit on data as well, because it was very harsh on Jitesh Sharma at that time, because he was with the team for the last 1-1.5 years, and he was playing as well. It’s not like he was not playing. If he was not playing, the story would have been different. I was very sad when we had to pick Ishan over Jitesh. But then if we had to bring some firepower in the top, if we had to do the openers left-right or if we had to pick the top two wicketkeepers, someone had to miss out,” SuryaKumar Yadav said.

The Indian captain also shared a personal conversation he had with Kishan before making the selection decision.

VIDEO | PTI EXCLUSIVE: Indian T20 cricket team captain and two-time ICC T20 World Cup champion Suryakumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar), when asked about his decision to pick Ishan Kishan in the 2026 T20 WC squad, says, “The decision was largely based on instinct, though there was also… pic.twitter.com/tRgGcqwYNd

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 16, 2026

“So, I just called him (Ishan) and asked, ‘Chotu World Cup jitayega?’ (Will you win the World Cup?). So he just told me, ‘Bass bharosa kar ke dekhiye’ (Just trust me). I said, ‘Chal kiya bharosa’ (Okay, I trust you), and the way he played – it was amazing,” he added.

According to Suryakumar, Kishan’s fearless approach and hunger to prove himself gave the team a valuable X-factor.

ALSO READ: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Targets Chris Gayle’s 175 Record Ahead Of IPL 2026

“I mean, the way he started from the bilaterals (five-match T20I series against New Zealand), I always knew that he was bringing an X-factor to the side because he had no baggage. When he went out of the team 1-1.5 years ago, he went back home, analysed what had happened, and went on to play domestic cricket,” Suryakumar Yadav explained.

He further revealed that Kishan worked tirelessly across domestic tournaments and practice matches to regain form and confidence. “And then the way he played domestic cricket, he performed in the IPL; I think he deserved that spot completely,” Suryakumar Yadav concluded. 🏏