Many of us thought that Ishan Kishan had cemented his place in the Indian team was dropped after the ICC World Cup 2023. “When I was not selected in the Indian team, I felt quite bad” says Ishan Kishan on being dropped from the Indian team. Just recently, he played the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and won it for his team, scoring a century in the final.
Jharkhand were playing Haryana in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. Basically, batting first scored 262/3 in their 20 overs, while it was a batting masterclass from captain Ishan Kishan. In reply, Harayan could only score 193/10 as they lost the final by 69, which led Jharkhand to their first-ever SMAT title.
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“When I was not selected in the Indian team, I felt quite bad” says Ishan Kishan on being dropped from the Indian team
Ishan Kishan had a lot to prove, not to anyone but to himself, that he has worked hard and deserves a place in the Indian team as soon as possible, after being one of the future stars who will play an important role in their new era. In the final of the 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he played like one. He scored 101 runs in just 49 balls, which included six boundaries and ten massive sixes. Ishan was also the Man of the Match in the final and led the team from the front.
In this edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Ishan Kishan was captaining the Jharkhand team and played a total of ten matches. In those ten matches, he scored 517 runs, which included two half-centuries and two centuries, one of which was in the final. Ishan Kishan was also the highest run-getter in the tournament and had a batting average of 57.44 and a strike rate of 197.33.
When I was not selected in the Indian team, I felt quite bad because I was doing well. But I told myself that if I am not selected with this sort of performance, then maybe I have to do more. Maybe I have to make my team win. Maybe we have to do well as a unit
It’s important that you don’t allow the frustration to get to you. This is my message to all the youngsters – frustration is something that will take you one step down, but at the same time, you need to put in a lot of hard work and believe in yourself and just focus on what you need to achieve
“I know you fancy your chances a lot of times. And when you don’t see your name, you just feel bad about it. So, I’m not in that zone anymore. I’m not expecting anything, But my job is to just keep performing,
He was sent out of the team due to some disciplinary issues, and his BCCI central contract was also taken off. In return, he realised that he just needed to perform and work hard to get back his place in the Indian team. Now the question arises, can he be a part of the Indian team that will play in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which would start in February? At the moment, it is tough for him to get a place as Sanju Samson is one of the favourites to be in the team and is way ahead of him. There is also an IPL season after the World Cup. If he keeps performing, then surely in the future he can get back his place in the Indian team. For now, he just needs to keep performing.