Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh lauded the national selectors for dropping Shubman Gill and picking the in-form Ishan Kishan in the eleventh hour for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Returning to the national fold after three years, Kishan turned out to have a breakout tournament where he emerged as India’s second-highest run-getter.
However, things were drastically different even six months ago with Gill returning to the T20I fold for the first time in over a year. Starting the 2025 Asia Cup last September, Gill was named the vice-captain to skipper Suryakumar Yadav. However, a spate of poor form ended with Gill’s snub on December 20, 2025, the day India announced their 15-member squad.
With Kishan running a sensational streak in the domestic circuit and powering Jharkhand to their maiden domestic title in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the left-hander won back his place in the T20I side. He entered the World Cup as India’s first-choice opener after slamming a century against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Bringing Ishan Kishan in was a good move from Gautam Gambhir, even though at the time we were feeling that there was injustice towards Shubman Gill. Because Ishan Kishan replaced him in the World Cup squad. But I had said earlier itself that at this time, he is batting the best in the format, because of the way he was batting in domestic cricket. So, his comeback was necessary,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
Kishan’s form was crucial for India in the initial matches, including their solitary game in Sri Lanka against Pakistan. The southpaw top-scored with a superb 77 before India demolished Pakistan with a strong bowling performance. Kishan later moved down to No. 3 in the order to accomodate Sanju Samson, the pair being vital to India’s run in the knockouts.
“Ishan Kishan started things right where Abhishek Sharma left things off. He did not even disappoint us once in this entire World Cup. Every match he batted destructively and kept the team first. To bat in that fashion after making a comeback, it is a massive thing,” remarked Harbhajan.
Kishan and Samson joined Virat Kohli as the only Indian batters to record more than 300 runs in a T20 World Cup edition.
