NEW DELHI: Life has come full circle for Ishan Kishan - from being dropped from the team and losing his BCCI central contract due to disciplinary issues, to making a national comeback by earning selection in India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad.

BCCI selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar explained the rationale behind Ishan Kishan's inclusion in the 15-member squad, stating that the selectors wanted an additional wicketkeeper at the top of the order and, as a result, had to sacrifice a specialist batter.

India T20 World Cup 2026 squad announced: Shubman Gill dropped; Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh included

In this instance, Kishan, who had a wonderful run at the just-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, found the favour ahead of Jitesh Sharma, who has been used more as a lower-order quick-hitter.

"We are looking at the combination. If the keeper is going to bat at the top, at the moment Jitesh is there and he has not done too much wrong. But we need to look at the combination and a keeper at the top," said the former India pacer.

Kishan led Jharkhand to their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph, sealing the title with a win over Haryana in the final.

The left-hander finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, amassing 517 runs in 10 innings at an average of 57.44 and a strike rate in excess of 197.

Kishan smashed 101 off 49 balls - his fifth century in the competition - in the final equalling India T20I opener Abhishek Sharma's record for the most hundreds in the tournament.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk)