India's Tour of Sri Lanka: Amit Mishra's Selection Inspired by Yasir Shah, Imran Tahir?

Amit Mishra got the chance to rebuild his dipping Test career when his name was included for the tour of Sri Lanka. However, was it simply skill, luck or a chain of events that resulted in the 32-year-old making it back into the longer format? The old phrase - horses for courses, comes to mind.

While chief selector Sandeep Patil maintained that Amit Mishra was always in the scheme of things, maybe the real answer lies across the border and also somewhere in the dark continent. Two isolated cases of leggies in the form of Yasir Shah and Imran Tahir. These three individuals have nothing in common except the fact they are wrist-spinners.

Yasir Shah was on song in the recent Tests in Sri Lanka. Twenty-four wickets in six innings was ample proof of how successful leg-spinners are on the turning tracks of Sri Lanka. However, Mishra was quick to say that he needs no inspiration from Yasir's performance as he has faith in his own ability. What does make a good argument in his favour is the fact that they are two different kind of spinners. Mishra is a slow turner of the ball while Yasir has immense turn and bounce in his deliveries.

India's other options were not too great. Karn Sharma is still recovering from his finger injury while Pragyan Ojha is still struggling to get used to his new action. Nonetheless Mishra has kept himself in the reckoning with good performances in the Indian Premier League and the domestic circuit.

Mishra was part of the Indian team that toured Sri Lanka in 2010 and did not have anything to write home about. The first Test is at Galle, where Yasir had picked up seven wickets. Virat Kohli will have an interesting selection dilemma and might be even tempted to try out the trio of Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra. Should that happen, it could be another chance for Mishra to prove that he belongs at the highest level of the game.

Imran Tahir did not have as much success in terms of numbers when South Africa toured Sri Lanka in 2014. He had just four wickets in two games, however, he evidently troubled the Lankan batsmen and BCCI may have taken a leaf out of the books of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. If that is the case, it might suggest a way to move forward.

Nevertheless, some people feel Mishra's selection is a backward step. Former Indian player Ajit Agarkar said that Mishra's inclusion meant that India did not have any young leg-spinners. Whatever be the reason, Mishra has been gift-wrapped favourable conditions to plot a comeback into the Indian Test team.

The layman can say it was luck, the critic may say it was deserved, the analyst will say it was due to the conditions. Maybe it is a combination of all things. The undeniable fact is that Amit Mishra has been handed a lifeline. At 32, most players are at the twilight of their careers. Mishra has the chance to extend that period a little longer. For that he can at least draw comfort from the fact that it was two leg-spinners in the form of Yasir Shah and Imran Tahir who had a good run on the dusty pitches of Sri Lanka. Make no mistake, he will be up against good players of spin including Kumar Sangakkara who is playing his last series. One has to now wait and watch as the action unfolds.