The Indian team toured South Africa in December 2023. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan was a key member of the Indian team at the time. Just before the start of the Test series, Ishan was dropped from the team for indiscipline and advised to play domestic cricket. At the time, Ishan was a regular member of the Indian team in all three formats: Tests, ODIs, and T20s.
After a long gap, Ishan Kishan got an entry into T20 World Cup squad
This decision was made despite his good form. After being dropped from the team and losing his central contract, Ishan focused entirely on domestic cricket. For the past two years, he has been playing for Jharkhand in all three formats and has been performing exceptionally well. Recently, Ishan captained Jharkhand in the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) prestigious T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).
Under his captaincy, Jharkhand won the title for the first time. In the final, Jharkhand defeated Haryana by 69 runs. Ishan played a brilliant innings of 101 runs off 49 balls, which proved to be a match-winning innings.
In the tournament, he scored 517 runs in 10 innings, including two centuries and two half-centuries, becoming the tournament’s top scorer. This strong performance earned him a place in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2025. His return was a surprise, as even Ishan himself was not expecting a place in the team.
According to some media reports, selection committee members and former cricketers Rudra Pratap Singh and Pragyan Ojha pushed for Ishan Kishan’s name in the meeting. Both wanted to prioritize players who performed well in domestic cricket. Ultimately, Agarkar was forced to make this difficult decision. Ishan Kishan was included in the team, replacing Shubman Gill.
It’s worth noting that RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha were also present at the Mushtaq Ali Trophy final, where Ishan Kishan scored a brilliant century to lead Jharkhand to the title.