IND vs NZ 2026: ‘Not easy because you drop a player like Shubman Gill’ – T20 World Cup winner credits selectors for recalling Ishan Kishan

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has often been criticised for their decisions, but T20 World Cup winner Irfan Pathan believes that its move to bring back Ishan Kishan for the series against New Zealand deserves a lot of praise. He added that dropping vice-captain Shubman Gill to recall Ishan Kishan was a brave call, and it paid off.

Kishan played T20I cricket for India for the first time in over two years. He finished as the second-highest run-getter in the series, amassing 215 runs in four innings at an average of 53.75 and a strike rate of 231.18. The wicketkeeper-batter slammed a belligerent century in the fifth and final T20I at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, January 31.

Pathan also noted that the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter worked on his off-side game during his time away from the national team.

“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 makes 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,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Pathan also praised Kishan for his level of fitness, mentioning how he kept wickets after scoring a whirlwind century. The cricketer-turned-expert said that Kishan is unstoppable on flat pitches and his real challenge would be to score on challenging surfaces.

“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,” the 41-year-old said.