Boria Majumdar
Amit Mishra’s international career was a stop-start affair, comprising 68 matches across formats over a timespan of nearly 14 years. In those games, he took 156 wickets, including a memorable five-for on Test debut against Australia. He was also a notable performer in the IPL, taking 174 wickets until his final appearance in 2024. In this exclusive interview with Boria Majumdar, RevSportz editor-in-chief, Mishra looks back at the twists and turns in a career where nothing came easy.
Boria: How do you look back on your career?
Mishra: I would say I have had my share of ups and downs and it wasn’t always smooth, but I have performed whenever I’ve gotten a chance. That’s the best part, I feel. Another most important thing is that there was a time when I thought that I should leave cricket. I discussed the same with my family, friends, and coaches, and everyone inspired me to stay back. Even during the five-year gap that I had in my career, I was continuously performing in domestic every year. I was taking 30-40 wickets, but that was of no use. Then T20 came and we won the T20 World Cup. Following that, IPL started, so that turned out to be a changing point of my career. I had a hat-trick and I took five wickets in the next two to three matches, having only played three or four matches that year. And at that point, my comeback journey started. I came back into the Indian team, got the opportunity to play Test matches. The first match I went in as a replacement for Anil Bhai (Kumble), I ended up being the Man of the Match. So, despite having ups and downs in my career and not having a relatively smooth path, I was mentally prepared as a professional cricketer should be – leaving behind negative things.
Boria: How did you come out of tough times on multiple occasions as an impactful player? Tell us a bit about that.
Mishra: So, first of all, your mentality should be very clear that you want to play cricket and you have a passion for it. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing for India, some company, IPL, domestic team or whatever. You’re playing the game you enjoy the most and love the most, and that is what matters. If playing cricket is your target and you have the willingness to, then nothing can stop you. If people today know me, it is because I played good cricket. Then obviously, dedication and correct hard work matter too. The reason inside your head should be about proving yourself and not to anyone else. Self-improvement starts once we try to prove things to ourselves, and that’s what helped me to make my comeback after a period of seven to eight months of being out of cricket due to injury. I played domestic when I couldn’t get into the Indian side, but I continued playing and proving myself. If you keep proving yourself, the world will automatically be on your side and start saying good things about you.
Boria: Tell us about that one partnership with Sachin Tendulkar against England (2011).
Mishra: I went in as a nightwatchman, and we had already lost two matches by then where I didn’t do much with the ball myself. So I wanted to contribute somewhere at least. I’m lucky to have played with the Sachin Paaji (Tendulkar). First day went by and I was not out, and second day, I went to Sachin Paaji and asked him how I was doing. He replied, saying: “Just play your normal game, normal shots, don’t think too much about what match it is or who is bowling to you, whether or not the ball is swinging, or else you will feel anxious. Just play it like you are playing domestic.” So I followed his words and once the game started, he himself told me that he could see the confidence in me. It was before lunch or maybe after that he again suggested something to me, and that was to take singles and doubles and not play shots against the spinners. The partnership started building and his guidance in between helped me the most.
Boria: Some memorable performances of yours?
Mishra: I would say that my Test debut was a big achievement of my career amongst others. The biggest question at that point of time for me from the media was that whether I’ll be able to fill the shoes of Anil Kumble and that gave me a lot of pressure. Anil Bhai was injured and was in and out of matches, so I was told to stay prepared to play any match at any point. One morning, it so happened that Anil Bhai was having a lot of pain in his leg, so he himself told me that I should play and that he wanted me to replace him because he had that faith in me. He handed over the Test cap to me which I still have preserved in my cupboard. He was someone I have always liked, someone whose attitude inspired me a lot despite us having different styles of bowling. I played that series under his guidance, got the five-wicket haul – that too against the biggest of names in Australian cricket (Mathew Hayden, Ricky Ponting et cetera) – and became the Man of the Match. This was the greatest feeling and achievement for me.
Boria: Any captain, senior that you have played under who inspired you a lot? Anyone that you want to talk about?
Mishra: None of my seniors made me feel that I am a youngster. Some names that I would like to mention would be Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Venkatesh Prasad, and Saurav Ganguly, who was my captain during my [ODI] debut in 2003 in Bangladesh. [Javagal] Srinath was very helpful to me. I remember this one time when I entered the team, Srinath told me in his broken Hindi: “Aa gaya bhai desi chore. Laya kuch hamare liye? Ghee wagera [The desi boy has come. Got something for us? Like ghee].” Everyone was very good to me. I have played domestic with Harbhajan and Sehwag, and have a bond with them. Even at the nets, Sachin paaji used to come and give me tips on bowling, such was his experience. Guidance from Anil Bhai was definitely there. I have played in three decades, right from Sachin Paaji’s to MS Dhoni’s, to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Certain things like gaps in your career cannot always be justified, and they happen, but I have been very lucky to have had supportive captains and seniors.
Boria: Any story while playing in the Virat-Rohit era?
Mishra: I have not played under Rohit’s captaincy but have played with him. About their captaincy, I would say that they are very different in their aggression, the way they talk, way they handle players et cetera. Rohit is a much calmer person when talking but shows aggression with his bat, while Virat would be more on the energetic and aggressive side. But both would be very positive on field. Both have been supportive and never forced any decision on me. All they did, even MS Dhoni for that matter, was give me tips to make a mark on the field – in a very supportive manner, never forcibly.
Boria: What is next for Amit Mishra? Would you want to come into coaching and get more quality spinners into the team?
Mishra: Five to eight years back, there weren’t many options for bowlers to just go and talk to about their bowling. Now that I have 25 years of experience in me, I would like to help and guide youngsters. I want to train them to change their minds according to the format of the game. T20 bowling cannot work in Tests, so accordingly, I would like to train [them]. I want to help youngsters get to Team India and also want to help India to have a variety of options to choose from when it comes to spinners across formats. There is a lot of aggression in Tests also in current times, so I would like to provide guidance on how to set the fields in Tests, how to bring variations required. I would like to help Team India deal with the dearth of quality spinners. I am ready to help struggling players if they want, and not waste the 25 years of experience that I have gained.
Boria: What do you think is the problem with India’s spin attack? Why aren’t there many quality spinners?
Mishra: I think due to the influence of T20, the variety has got suppressed. So, people would only want to bowl their overs and leave. Spinners in my era like Anil Bhai, Harbhajan – even, say, [Ravinchandran] Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja – they had their variations to show and hence were wicket-taking bowlers with such long careers. These days, spinners like Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel have tremendous qualities, but variations are not being used much by them. They need to reminded of when to dip the ball, when to bowl slow, when to bowl a googly et cetera.
Boria: If an IPL team approaches you for coaching in 2026, would you consider?
Mishra: Yes, of course. Why not? I want to help as I said, and I want good quality spinners to land in the Indian team. If I can help players through a franchise and help the Indian team to get options, then why not?
Boria: Any regret that you have of not playing a certain match or series, or not being part of a certain team?
Mishra: There would be too many like that, so I don’t want to talk about those any more [laughs]. I am happy that I improved my game, my fitness whenever I was asked to. I enjoyed playing cricket and gave my 100 per cent whenever I got a chance. I was asked to improve my bowling skills and was told that I am [too] slow. My reply was that despite that, I have taken wickets in any situation that I have been placed. But yes, I still worked on my pace and variation and improved myself. I definitely could have played and contributed more, but my mantra of 25 years has been to not focus on the negatives and could-haves. Ups and downs would be there, but focusing on what’s in our control is a must.
Boria: Thank you very much for joining me.
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🎙️Amit Mishra Exclusive : Untold Stories of His Career, Comebacks & Future in Coaching
From his stop-start international career to memorable performances against Australia, IPL hat-tricks, playing with legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit… pic.twitter.com/wpOw5EADAZ
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