Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has credited Indian selectors for taking the harsh call of not picking Shubman Gill and rewarding the domestic performances of Ishan Kishan. The left-hander was a part of the five T20I matches against New Zealand ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup and scored a swashbuckling hundred in the fifth match on Saturday.
Kishan made a comeback into the Indian team fold after being out for two years. He had topped the run-scoring charts at the 2025-26 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy.
“The selectors deserve credit for bringing back Ishan Kishan on the back of his domestic performances. They deserve credit because it’s not easy because you drop a player like Shubman Gill and then you draft Kishan, who performed in domestic cricket. He took advantage of that chance and made it count.
“When these things happen, everything went right for Kishan and selectors deserve equal credit. The way Kishan batted, especially hitting Ish Sodhi for 29 runs in an over – he was all over a senior bowler, who has performed quite well for New Zealand. Kishan worked on his off-side game and it’s noticeable,” said Pathan on his YouTube channel.
Pathan also talked about Kishan’s wicket-keeping. With Sanju Samson not delivering in any of the five matches at home, and with the return of Tilak Varma from injury, the Indian team management have the option of going the Kishan route.
“The fitness is also there to see as he kept wickets after scoring a ton and he got an opportunity to peak at the right time. Kishan has told the selectors not to bench him despite Tilak Varma’s return. It also means batting at the top is not a problem for Kishan. It will be interesting to see how he plays on a slow wicket on the off-side. But it seems impossible to stop Kishan on pitches where it’s flat and the ball comes on to the bat well,” said Pathan.
India’s campaign to defend their T20 World Cup crown begins next Sunday against the USA.