"People Say If MS Dhoni Was Not There My Career Would Have Been Better": Ex-India Star Clears Air

Spinner Amit Mishra emerged on the Indian cricket scene at a time that also saw the rise of MS Dhoni. He went on to play 22 Tests, 36 ODIs, and 10 T20Is. However, he could never consolidate his position in the playing XI. There has been speculation that Dhoni did not support Mishra enough, but the spinner has cleared the air over these accusations.

"People say if Dhoni was not there, my career would have been better. But who knows-if he was not there, maybe I would not even have been in the team. I came into the team under him only, and I kept making a comeback. He would have agreed as a captain, and that is why I kept coming back. So there is a positive way to look at things," Mishra said on MensXP.

Mishra went on to highlight Dhoni's guidance and insights, especially in his last ODI series against New Zealand.

"I did have the support. Whenever I was in the XI, it was never like Dhoni did not come to me and give me tips or tell me things. He would always tell me things. I was playing against New Zealand, which was my last one-day series. Dhoni was the captain. It was a tight game. I came to bowl, and we had scored 260-270 runs. I thought of stopping the flow of runs and not going for wickets," he said.

"After a couple of overs, Dhoni came to me and said I was not bowling what I naturally bowl. He told me not to think a lot and bowl what I always do. I did that and then got a wicket. He told me, 'This is your bowling-bowl exactly this, don't think a lot.' It was a game-changing spell. I picked up five wickets, and I think that was also my best spell. His thinking was that if I did not pick wickets, we would lose the game. This is how he supported me."

Topics mentioned in this article

MS Dhoni Amit Mishra India Cricket Team Cricket