Ishan Kishan, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter, has returned to India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad for 2026 and said he was “very happy” to be back after over a year away from international cricket.
Leading the 15-member team for the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup will be Suryakumar Yadav as the Captain with Axar Patel named the vice-captain following the omission of Shubham Gill from the World Cup squad due to fitness and form reasons.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Kishan said, “I am very happy,” regarding his return to the national squad and was also proud of his domestic team, Jharkhand, for winning their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) trophy: “Also very happy for my domestic team, Jharkhand, on winning their maiden SMAT trophy! Everyone played really well!”
Kishan earned his recall following an impressive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) campaign, where he played a key role in helping Jharkhand win the title. He finished the tournament as the top run-scorer with 517 runs in 10 innings, which included two centuries and two half-centuries as well. His campaign stood out when he hit a century in the final against Haryana and had a strike rate of over 197.
The 26-year-old returns to the Indian T20I setup as a second wicketkeeper-batter option. He last played a T20I for India against Australia in late 2023.
Explaining Gill’s omission, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said at the squad announcement that Gill missed out as the team was exploring different top-order combinations, while also reassuring the young batter that the selectors continue to have faith in his abilities.
Along with Ishan Kishan, India’s T20 World Cup squad also includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar, among others, as the team prepares for the tournament and the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand.