December is the same month again, right?
Two years ago, exactly in December, Ishan Kishan was forced out of the Indian team. And two years later, in the same December, he didn’t just knock on Team India’s door again – he forced it open.
For T20 World Cup 2026 batsman Ishan Kishan named in 15-man squad selected on Saturday.
Comebacks in cricket are never easy – especially when you were once the team’s ‘first choice’ and then suddenly find yourself on the fringes of the system. This is exactly what happened with Ishan Kishan. In December 2023, he asked voters for a break for personal reasons. After that, events moved so quickly that in just two months of absence, India’s first-choice combinations in white-ball cricket coped without him.
Then there was silence.
No statements. No explanations.
Just long, grueling domestic seasons and a career full of unanswered questions.
Ishan Kishan lived for two years in that cricketing jungle from which very few players return unscathed. From the outside, it looked like the selectors had moved on and Ishan was left behind. But in that silence, the player was rebuilding himself – not in technique, but in thinking.
In December 2025, the story took a turn.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Ishan Kishan not only scored runs but answered his inner anger, frustration and doubts with his bat.. Top scorer at a strike rate of 197.32 leading Jharkhand to their first titleand making bold decisions as a captain, it wasn’t just about winning the tournament, it was about reinventing yourself.
Ishan Kishan’s comeback is remarkable not because he scored but because he didn’t give up on himself. His long-time teammate and mentor Ishank Jaggi says Ishan Kishan is much more mature now, not with age but with injuries, rejection and loneliness. When the world questioned his IPL earnings, Ishan chose a different challenge for himself:
“Everyone has written about me. Now I will write myself.”
Ishan Kishan’s return reply for the selectors
Mental strength became the biggest weapon in this comeback. Don’t run from failure, but stare it in the eye. Returning to domestic cricket, scoring centuries and then showing consistency across formats, this is the story of a player who knows how to get back on his feet even after being broken.
“Even if we get outs, it doesn’t matter, we have to control the pitchers.
When the captain thinks like this, the team starts to play the same way.
This phase of Ishan Kishan’s career is not just a comeback, it is a response to the system, the selectors and perhaps to himself.
Cricket often gives second chances, but third chances are rare. Ishan Kishan lived his second chance like it was his last. The question now is no longer whether he is back – the question is whether Team India is ready to accept him as a permanent fixture.
– The end
Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
December 24, 2025
