Dropped, tested and returned with the loudest roar…the comeback of Ishan Kishan is nothing less than a blessing for the Indian team in the ongoing ICC T20 Cricket World Cup.A ‘changed’ man by nature now, Kishan carries the charm of being the new ‘fearless’ opener for the Indian team, as Abhishek Sharma struggles to regain his rhythm. The left-handed batsman smashed a 40-ball 70 against Pakistan, and in his previous two outings posted a 24-ball 61 against Namibia and a 16-ball 20 against the USA. In all three matches, his latest performance against arch-rivals Pakistan showed how he has matured as a batter.“I have known him since his Indian Premier League (IPL) playing days and the memory goes back to 2016-17. He has changed his style and returned with more aggression. The T20 format needs such aggression and he handles it really well,” said Team India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. “Lately, he has been very comfortable and going great with the bat…which is really good for the team,” added the coach. Runs from his bat in the next two matches—against the Netherlands and South Africa—are important at Narendra Modi Stadium here. If the Indian team qualifies for the final (and Pakistan fails), this very ground will host the final and Kishan’s confidence on the field will carry high hopes for the side. “Yes, we can play three matches here…it’s important to get familiar with the surface,” added Kotak. In the last match, Kishan ruled the track that was taking big turn and no other batter matched his amazing style of play. Working hard to earn the comeback call to the squad, Kishan marked 517 runs at a strike rate of 197 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as captain of the Jharkhand team.It was in 2017, after Kishan’s 799-run Ranji Trophy season, that his aggressive batting style caught the attention of IPL scouts. He was picked up by now-defunct Gujarat Lions in 2017, but it was his stint with Mumbai that made him the next Indian wicketkeeper. In the 2020 IPL season, Kishan emerged as the top scorer for his team, and in the following year he made his T20I debut for India against England, scoring 56 off 32 balls. His ODI debut followed soon after, and he made headlines with a stunning 210 off 131 balls against Bangladesh in December 2022. After spending a few seasons with Mumbai Indians, Kishan was released ahead of the mega auction in 2024 where he was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad.