India’s veteran spinner Amit Mishra admitted that uncertainty regarding his place in the team frustrated him. During his career, Mishra was in and out of the team on a regular basis as India had spinners like Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
Later, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja cemented their place in the team as lead spinners. Mishra, who announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Thursday, featured for India in 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is and took 156 wickets in total. He made his international debut in 2003 against South Africa and played his last match in Indian colors in 2017 against England.
The 42-year-old from Haryana made his Test debut in 2008 against Australia and returned with a five-wicket haul (5-71) in the first innings at Mohali when Anil Kumble was injured.
The leg-spinner scalped 174 wickets in 162 IPL matches at an average of 23.82 and an economy rate of 7.38. Ergo, Mishra is regarded as one of the most successful spinners in IPL history.
“It was a very disappointing thing. Sometimes you’re in the team, sometimes you’re out. Sometimes you get a chance in the playing eleven, sometimes you don’t. Of course, it’s frustrating, and I was frustrated many times, no doubt,” Mishra told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview.
“But then you remember that your dream is to play cricket for India. You are with the national team, and millions of people are working so hard just to be there. You are one of the 15 players on the Indian team. So, I tried to stay positive,” he added.
The Haryana spinner said he was always focused on improving his skills at the top level.
“Whenever I was frustrated, I thought about what I could improve on. Whether it was my fitness, batting, or bowling, I always focused on getting better. Whenever I got a chance to play for the Indian team, I performed well, and I’m very happy about that. I never shied away from hard work,” he said.
It would be interesting to note what role will Amit Mishra take in his second innings.
