Ishan Kishan is taking the T20 World Cup by storm — and it was long overdue

When Ishan Kishan scored a thunderous half-century on his T20I debut against England in 2021, it felt like it was only a matter of time before this young pocket rocket would make a massive impression in world cricket. He had power, aggression, and a bucket load of talent to back those expectations, and with the T20 World Cup set to take place later that year, it felt like he would announce himself in grand style.

However, cricket has a funny way of getting you down as quickly as it gets you up.

Kishan went on to have a horrible World Cup in 2021. India ended up crashing out of the group stage, and Kishan eventually lost his place in the side. He did make sporadic appearances in a few T20I matches afterwards, but he was never considered to be a regular in the format.

Everything came to a standstill when Kishan was dropped from the national side altogether and was eventually stripped of the BCCI annual central contract. Questions about his temperament, desire, and attitude began to do the rounds. He was let go by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League mega auction, and an under-par season with Sunrisers Hyderabad did not do him any favours. Slowly and steadily, Kishan was fading into obscurity, and it seemed like there was no way back for him.

But Ishan Kishan was determined to make things right and fight for his cricketing future. After a poor IPL, he decided to venture back into domestic cricket and force the selectors’ hand. And that is exactly what transpired. He had a memorable Syed Mushtaq Ali campaign as Jharkhand captain, not only leading them to the title but also scoring runs at will. 517 runs at a mind-boggling strike rate of 195 were enough for the selectors, and no sooner had the tournament concluded than he was named in the India side for the 2026 World Cup.

Against Pakistan, on a Khettarama pitch offering a massive amount of turn and against a team stacked with a variety of spinning options, Kishan seemed to be playing on a pitch completely different from the rest. Abrar Ahmed was carted around with disdain, Shadab Khan was plundered, and even Shaheen Shah Afridi was effortlessly dispatched, as Kishan played to his strengths, targeted the favourable match-up, and went after it with relentless efficiency.

By the time he was dismissed, Kishan had scored 77 of the 88 runs India had put on the board. Such was the impact and importance of his knock that the rest of the Indian batters after him struggled massively, scoring just 87 more runs at a meagre run rate of 7.6, as opposed to the thunderous 10.1 while Kishan was at the crease. It was paramount that Kishan had to succeed against spin, given that Pakistan had bowled just a solitary over of fast bowling when he was out in the centre.

From being very limited in his attacking of the spinners to making a mockery of spin, Kishan has managed to script an unreal comeback. Now, he has become a crucial cog in the wheel in India’s quest to defend their title on home soil.

The innings and his run-scoring with the bat at the top become even more pronounced when you take into consideration that the much-fancied Abhishek Sharma has returned two consecutive blobs in his two innings with the bat.

Ishan Kishan is finally making this T20 World Cup his own in the way that he was touted to five years ago. It was a matter of time before he did, and, given the way he is doing it, it was long overdue.