Redemption stories are always the greatest stories to narrate; it doesn't matter if it's Tiger Woods or Ishan Kishan. There was a time when Ishan Kishan sat at the roadside, declining a fan in Haldia, Bengal, saying that he no longer plays for India. And now, he will be donning the jersey of his country for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The call was already made when Ishan, Kishan, and the captain led Jharkhan to their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on December 18, at Pune. Ishan scored a monstrous hundred, being the second Indian to do so in the SMAT final. 517 runs—2 half centuries and 2 centuries, with the highest being 113* runs—were enough for the selectors to rethink the opening order for India. Well, with Sanju Samson being the Ferris wheel of the team, Abhishek Sharma may either have him or Ishan Kishan as his partner in the tournament. But whatever happens, the door that looked closed finally opened. The Pre-SMAT hustle nobody cared However, the story starts long before the SMAT performance. The wicketkeeper batter has been a regular player for India. The batter who had 200 runs in the ODI, was dropped in the second match but laughed it out in the post-match presentation. And one day he failed to casually shrug off the pain. Ishan was not only ignored but also scratched out from the central contract. Reason—mental fatigue—that too in a country like India, where someone is unhealthy only when visible physically. It happened in 2023, around December, when he had returned from the South Africa Series and had even skipped a domestic tournament. It infuriated the BCCI management, and they threw him out of the contract. But was a mental health break really that uncommon? Around the 2013-14 Ashes, Jonathan Trott left the first Test due to a "stress-related illness," and the ECB fully supported him. One of the recent and famous examples is of Ben Stokes, who became unavailable following his finger injury in 2021. And the ECB managing director let him rest "as long as he needs." Sarah Taylor sufferedanxiety and panic attacks when she took leave in 2016 with ECB's support. Australia has multiple examples, notably of Glenn Maxwell in 2019, and Meg lanning who was unavailable to prioritize herself, quote unquote for almost a year from 2002 to 2023! However, it's India, where everyone sighs. Even Kishan openly expressed that he felt bad being snubbed, especially when his bat spoke! The comeback for Ishan Kishan—jhukega nehi Ishan Kishan didn't bow down. He had a season with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2025, and in the very first match, he scored a century- 45-ball century followed by a Pushpa-style celebration. It was the "remember me" innings, with many cricket pundits claiming that Ishan has finally started knocking on the selector's door. It was Kishan's first ever century, and the team celebrated with a cake after he was awarded the player of the match The Gita influence and Mother's back During the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, jumper Sharad Kumar openly claimed the influence of the Bhagavad Gita in his life. Kumar was suffering from a meniscus dislocation (knee injury) the night before his D-day. When he called his father, the latter advised him to read Gita. It gave Kumar the mental strength and ultimately won the bronze medal. and for Kishan, it was the same. Kishan's father, Pranav Pandey, claimed to PTI, that Kishan was undergoing extreme mental turmoil when he simply passed down the tradition to his son. "My mother told me to read the Gita. So, I suggested that he read the Gita. She had told me if you are in a lot of tension, then you keep your question in your mind and open the Gita," Pandey said. "Read the page that comes in front of you. You will get the answer to your question in that page." Pandey even claimed that Kishan became more mature emotionally and carried the book in his kitbag. The final bang on the BCCI door The SMAT tour has no doubt been the turning point. From being nowhere in the international circuit, Kishan straighaway got the chance for the 2026 t20 World Cup. In the era where it is believed that the IPL creates the path, Ishan jovially proved that domestic games still hold as much importance as the IPL does. And if, anyhow, he can fit in Gautam Gambhir's carousel, the final winning light will be seen for him. Ishan Kishan's response post selection On December 20, BCCI announced the squad for the T20 World Cup that will also play in the New Zealand ODI series post the South Africa series. Surprisingly, Shubman Gill, who was made the team's vice captain out of the blue, making the entire top order a hotchpotch, was dropped. Ishan Kishan got his chance as a top-order wicketkeeper batter along with Sanju Samson. After selection, ANI approached Ishan Kishan, where he calmly praised his Jharkhand team, and expressed his feelings for getting selected. “I am delighted. I’ve heard the news, and it makes me feel extremely happy." Behind all his cricketing glamour, there was noticeable calmness on his face—a calmness that comes after undergoing a storm nobody ever cared to look at. Sharad Kumar once shared a very beautiful marketing quote from Adidas on his Insta story: "Sport is not just a game I play. Sport is who I am. Its every second on the clock, every moment I live- game day or anyday."