Ishan Kishan’s return to the Indian team will go down as one of the most inspiring stories in cricket history. From being dropped from the BCCI’s central contract to dealing with mental health, injuries and proving himself again in domestic cricket, the wicketkeeper-batsman has come a long way before making his comeback for the national team.

If Ishan Kishan didn’t have the help of the legendary Virat Kohli, he might not have been able to achieve success in the long process. Ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, an old video from an IPL match has started resurfacing on social media platforms, with the Jharkhand-born player gearing up to represent India in the World Cup.

Ishan Kishan is in hot form

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made a surprise move by naming Ishan Kishan in the T20I World Cup squad. After a long time, he was selected in the team and also participated in high-profile events like the T20 World Cup. The top-order batsman once again has to prove himself.

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The left-hander did his job accurately in the five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand, scoring 8, 76, 28 and 103 runs respectively. He missed one game because of a minor issue. After missing the fourth match of the series, Ishan responded with a scintillating century.

A close contest begins between MI and RCB

The attacking batsman has performed well in the IPL 2020-21 season for Mumbai Indians (MI). After participating in 14 games, he scored a total of 516 points, averaging 57.33 points. Ishan also scored a stunning 99 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this season. However, MI as a whole felt out of their depth against Virat Kohli’s RCB. Ishan Kishan played his best innings of the season but was still heartbroken. The match ended in a draw but RCB won the knockout match by more than one goal.

After the match, when the show was over, Ishan Kishan was standing alone, trying to hold back tears, when Virat Kohli came up and put his hand on his shoulder. In a great gesture to support the emerging cricketer, the legend tried his best to win a crucial victory.

In a recent conversation, Ishan recalled Kohli’s words at the right time and revealed that he was holding back tears when Kohli spoke to him. He said that he was very sad and on the verge of tears until Virat Kohli extended his support to him.

Virat Kohli expresses support for Ishan

“I was very sad during another match. I remember there was a video where I was on the verge of tears before Virat bhai consoled me. Bas kisi tarah se aansu roke huye thhe (I just managed to hold back the tears). He (Virat) must have seen me lying there. Poor kid; he was probably overthinking,” Ishan said on the 2 Sloggers podcast.

Yi Xiu almost cried😕 pic.twitter.com/82LUj7GVcg

— N (@neilectric) September 26, 2021

If all goes well, Ishan Kishan will open for India during the 2026 T20 World Cup. Sanju Samson had several opportunities to showcase his batting prowess but failed to perform well against New Zealand.

Read more: Ishan Kishan takes aim at Rohit Sharma for removing him from team