Veteran Indian spinner Amit Mishra has talked about the challenges he has faced in his career spanning over 15 years. Mishra has not yet officially announced his retirement from international cricket. He, however, last donned the Indian jersey in 2017, featuring in a T20I against England in Bengaluru.
Mishra, who made his in 2008, has never managed to secure a permanent squad in the Indian team. During a recent interaction on a YouTube podcast, the 41-year-old reminisced about some agonising memories of his cricketing career. He especially opened up about the time when MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli were the captains of the national team.
According to Amit Mishra, “just playing good cricket is not enough” to impress the Indian selectors. “Being liked matters a lot in team selection. Just playing good cricket isn’t enough. The captain always decides the Playing XI. I had an excellent rapport with MS Dhoni. I asked him twice why I wasn’t getting picked and he told me that I didn’t fit the combination,” he said on Subhankar Mishra’s YouTube show ‘Unplugged’.
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Mishra further recalled when he was forcefully given rest during a Test series. “I was told that I was being given a rest. I never asked for it. I hadn’t even played 10 Test matches by then, why would I ask for a rest or break? If I have to tell you honestly, I wasn’t in a position to question Dhoni. Yes, I asked the coach again and he just said we are giving you rest”.
Virat Kohli was appointed as India’s permanent Test captain in 2015 after MS Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format. The shift in leadership, however, didn’t help Amit Mishra a lot. Two years later, he sustained a knee injury during a T20I series against England.
“The worst I’ve felt in my career was when I picked up a knee injury. It happened in between the match. And this used to be the rule back then, not sure if it still happens, but if you get injured while playing, you are given an automatic comeback. It happened with Wriddhiman Saha, Anil Kumble and Hardik Pandya, but I never got it,” Mishra said.
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Once recovered, he approached Virat Kohli to get clarity on his future. “During the IPL, I asked him to give a clear picture of my career. He said ‘Mishy bhai, I’ll ask and let you know’. Virat helped me in my comeback series against Sri Lanka – in 2016. Then I got injured so I asked him again. I messaged him. He read the text and said ‘I’ll let you know’ but never did,” Mishra said.
Amit Mishra has represented India in 36 ODIs, 22 Tests and 10 T20Is, and has fetched a total of 156 wickets across all formats.
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