Former Indian cricketer and Lucknow Super Giants spinner Amit Mishra who made made his debut under Anil Kumble has made some shocking revelations about MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli. In his conversation with YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra on his podcast, he revealed several incidents that were disappointing for him during his career, beginning with 2010 Test match against Bangladesh, where despite taking 7 wickets and scoring a fifty, he was unexpectedly omitted from the Playing XI for the next game.
He said that he did speak to MS Dhoni on him not being selected to which Thala had replied him, “I don’t fit the combination.” Moreover, he also claimed that 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, he told me that I don’t fit the combination,” he told Shubhankar on his show ‘Unplugged.’
He added, “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?”
In another instance, he added that not just MS Dhoni, even during Virat Kohli’s captaincy, he was sidelined without being given proper reason. He, however, also added that at once Kohli did help him in his comeback series against Sri Lanka in 2016.
“The worst I’ve felt in my career was when I picked up a knee injury five years ago. It happened in between the match. The series before I was the Man of the Series and the Man of the match against New Zealand.” He added that it used to be the rule that if a player got injured while playing, they allowed to return to play once they recovered from their injury.
“During the IPL, our last match was against RCB. I asked him (Kohli) to give a clear picture about my career. He said ‘Mishy bhai, I’ll ask and let you know’. ”
He added, “Virat Kohli helped me in my comeback series against Sri Lanka – 2016. I was doing well and India needed a leg-spinner who could bowl in Sri Lanka. When I came back, he said, ‘from today, you will train for fitness with me’. I told him I can’t lift weights like you but I can run and whatever else you want. Then I got injured so I asked him again, but I never got a clear answer. I messaged him. He read the text and said ‘I’ll let you know’ but never did.”
Mishra on Virat and Rohit Sharma’s nature
Mishra spoke on contrasting nature’s of Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He said, “When I met Rohit Sharma the first day and when I meet him today, he is the same person. So will you relate to him more or with someone who changes according to situation?”
“I haven’t been part of the Indian team in years. Still when I meet Rohit during the IPL or any other event, he is always joking with me. I don’t need to think what he will think. We joke with each other. He is at the top but we still have maintained that rapport. He is the captain, won the World Cup and five IPL titles.”
On the other hand, while speaking about Kohli, he said, “I have seen Virat change a lot. We had almost stopped talking. When you get fame and power, they think people are reaching out to them for a purpose. I was never one of those.”
“I have known Cheeku since the time he was 14, when he used to eat Samosas, when he needed Pizza every night. But there is a huge difference in the Cheeku I knew and Virat Kohli the captain. Whenever he meets me, he is very respectful, but it’s obviously not the same anymore,” he said.