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Ishan Kishan's journey to phoenix-like resurgence is a manifestation of his relentless determination and unrelenting passion for cricket,which finally paid off with him being a T20 World Cup champion. The Jharkhand cricketer's climb from being a centrally contracted player snubbed for mental health breaks to a T20 World Cup 2026 champion is nothing short of inspirational.

Before India announced its T20 World Cup 2026 squad, Kishan was never in the line of call-up. But just a month later, the swashbuckling left-hander from Jharkhand is being celebrated as a national hero after playing an essential role in India's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph.

A Setback Turns Into A Comeback Opportunity

Kishan's struggles began when he asked for a break midway through the South Africa series due to personal reasons, which reportedly did not sit well with the then-head coach Rahul Dravid and selectors. He was thereafter omitted from the central contracts in 2024. However, Kishan used this setback as a chance to regroup and refocus.

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"I was scoring runs, and then I found myself on the bench. But I experienced travel fatigue. It meant there was something wrong; I was not feeling well or right, and so I decided to take a break. However, sadly, barring my family and a few close people, no one understood that," Kishan had told The Indian Express in 2024.

Training With Hardik

He trained with Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya in Baroda and polished his game, scoring heavily in domestic cricket, including a century in the Buchi Babu tournament. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) for Jharkhand, he became the top run-getter with 517 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 197.44.

Recall And Redemption

His dedication yielded results when he received a recall to the Indian team for the New Zealand series and the T20 World Cup 2026. Kishan's tempestuous batting, including a well-deserved, crucial fifty in the final against New Zealand, played a paramount role in India's success in the marquee tournament. In the event, he slammed 317 runs in nine matches, finishing as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the tournament.

Mental Game: The Key To Success

Kishan's triumph is not just a result of his hard work but also his mental strength. He has spoken about how he quit thinking about his place in the team and concentrated on honing his skills, drawing inspiration from batting mogul Virat Kohli, who called time on his T20I career. His talk with Suryakumar Yadav before the World Cup squad announcement, where the India captain asked if the diminutive wicketkeeper could lift the World Cup, is proof of Kishan's fearlessness and self-belief.

“In these two years, the biggest thing I learned was to just keep doing your job; don't think about the results. The skills don't change much. If I scored a 200 before, the skills were there then, and they are there now. But what matters is your approach. How much hunger do you have?" Kishan said after the T20 World Cup triumph.

“So in a way, I take a step back. As I said, I like Virat bhai a lot, seeing how he has put his energy into the game for so many years. That work was the most important thing for me to understand: what can I change within myself? Because the ability is there,” Kishan said.

Triumph At Last

Kishan scored a half-century in the final and contributed to India's 96-run win over New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. He became a part of the squad which scripted history by becoming the first team to defend their T20 World Cup title, the first to triumph at a home championship, and the first to win three T20 World Cup titles.

“If you remove the fear of failure and doubt, you only focus on staying in the present. In these two years, I have learned one thing: I have stopped overthinking. I don't even think about where my name will come up, whether it will come up or not. I think it's not in my hands, and if I think about these things and then look at the team and see my name isn't there, it will just hurt me,” he added.


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