Ishan Kishan breaks his silence on prolonged Team India exile after the SMAT 2025 triumph

Ishan Kishan finally breaks his silence on his prolonged exile from Team India since 2023, after his wonderful performance and leadership in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. Under his captaincy, Jharkhand won the SMAT 2025 title by defeating Haryana in the finals. They won the final match by 69 runs. In the finals, Kishan (101 off 49) hit an incredible century, which helped his team score 262 runs in 20 overs, after batting first. In response, Haryana could only manage to reach on 193 runs.  

Kishan hasn’t played any international match since the India vs Australia 5-match T20I series 2023. He said that the phase was very difficult for him, when he was kicked out of the team for disciplinary reasons by then head Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

“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,” he said.

“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,” he added.

Ishan Kishan SMAT 2025 Performance

Ishan Kishan scored 517 runs in 10 innings at an average of 57.44. He hit 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries during the tournament. Meanwhile, he made these runs with a strike rate of 197.32. With this impressive performance, he's staking a strong claim for the World Cup, which is due to take place in two months. Despite this, his chances of being selected for the T20 World Cup 2026 are still very slim. He's already in the reckoning with the likes of Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, the left-hander is unaffected by it, as he continues to concentrate on giving his best effort in every game he gets to play.

“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,” he said with a smile, before adding: “But my job is to just keep performing," he said.

Kishan has already seen many ups and downs in his career. Despite hitting the fastest double hundred in ODIs, he was dropped from the ODI setup. Once, he was considered a priority back-up opener. He also played in the middle order in the ODI setup. His performance was also good. But he suddenly vanished from all formats. 

Furthermore, Kishan said about his captaincy in the SMAT 2025. He puts this domestic title victory right at the top. Under his captaincy, Jharkhand won the tournament undefeated. 

“It is definitely the happiest moment, because we have never won domestic tournaments under my captaincy. And, this was something where you had to prove yourself,” he said.

“There are times when you doubt yourself, but when you win it, it’s all done, and you know what quality you have, what changes you can make to your game, how you can turn the game around. Now, I have more trust in myself, more belief in my batting," he added.