T20 World Cup 2026: How Ishan Kishan went from brash batter to World Cup hero

India’s Ishan Kishan during his 54 against New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup final at Ahmedabad on Sunday. Pic/PTI

Emerging as one of the heroes of India's World Cup triumph in Ahmedabad on Sunday night, it's been an unimaginable turnaround for the young Ishan Kishan, 27, who was ostracised by the BCCI not too long ago.

He was kept out of the Indian team primarily due to a conflict over his reluctance to play domestic cricket when not on international duties, which also led to losing his central contract in February 2024. He wanted to play on his whims and fancies, but the BCCI came down hard and asked him to restart his career by returning to domestic cricket. He followed the diktat, ultimately leading Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title in late 2025. He made his international comeback in January 2026, after a gap of two years, and was selected for the pre-World Cup T20 series against New Zealand where he delivered a standout performance in the six matches (08, 76, 28, 103, 53), highlighted by a maiden T20I century, to confirm his place in the T20 World Cup squad. He eventually emerged as India's second-highest run-getter (317 runs) after Sanju Samson (321 runs) at the T20 World Cup. There's no doubt that the second coming of Kishan has been a big boon to Team India. But more importantly, the mental toughness he developed in the process helped him overcome a personal tragedy on the eve of the summit clash against New Zealand. His cousin sister and brother-in-law passed away in a tragic road accident, and Kishan could have easily pulled out of the final, but showing great resilience, dedication, and commitment, he overcame the grief and pain, and walked onto the field wearing the India jersey.

Carrying his lethal bat and a heavy heart, he delivered a crucial half-century (29-ball 54, 4x4s, 4x6s) in the final, when his team needed him the most. He dedicated his performance and the team's victory to his late cousin, saying, "I want to dedicate my knock to her. When I looked up after the fifty, it was for her. I thought the best thing I could do was to score runs for her."

317
No. of runs scored by Ishan Kishan in the 2026 T20 World Cup - the fourth highest

33
No. of fours struck by Ishan Kishan in the 2026 T20 World Cup - the third highest

Three
No. of half-centuries scored by Ishan Kishan in the 2026 T20 World Cup

193.29
Ishan Kishan's strike rate in the 2026 T20 World Cup - the third highest for anyone playing more than three innings