Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has given credit to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel for backing Ishan Kishan for the T20I series against New Zealand. Kishan was added to the T20 World Cup after Shubman Gill was dropped.

The left-hander was brought back into the team after three years as he scored 517 runs in 10 matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while leading Jharkhand. Kishan completed a 42-ball century in the fifth T20I against New Zealand on Saturday, which is his maiden T20I hundred.

The southpaw scored 215 runs in five matches of the series at an average of 53.75 and a blistering strike rate of 231.18.

Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “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 while it will be nigh impossible to put the brakes on Ishan Kishan on flat pitches, he added it would be interesting to note how he fares on slow tracks.

“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.”

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on February 7.