Amit Mishra: View from the bench

Amit Mishra has sadly failed to replicate his exploits from the IPL in to the international arena

Amit Mishra received his India first call-up for a Test match against the West Indies in 2002, but was not selected in the playing XI. He made his debut in an ODI against South Africa the very next year. However, fast forward ten years, and the Haryana lad is yet to solidify his place in Team India in any of the three formats.

Mishra had always been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit. A handy lower order batsman, he was unfortunate to be playing in an era in which Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, two of India’s greatest spinners, were playing together.

However, with Kumble’s ODI career on the wane, it would have been a good opportunity for him to cement his place in the Indian One-Day side. The opportunities for him, however, were non-existent. Harbhajan was still performing well and the selectors had found his partner first in Murali Kartik and then Ramesh Powar. With fewer and fewer selections, Mishra could never get the opportunity to establish himself.

With his career in the doldrums, he returned to domestic circuit and then had a career revival of sorts when he was purchased by the Delhi-franchise of the newly-launched Indian Premier League, Delhi Daredevils.

A hat-trick in the very first season and impressive performances over the next two editions saw him being selected for national duty again. In his debut Test match, against Australia in 2008, he picked up a fifer in the first innings and backed it up with two more wickets in the second. This opportunity, however, came as a result of an injury sustained by Anil Kumble.

Harbhajan soon made his comeback and the emergence of the young Hyderabad off-spinner Pragyan Ojha, led to Mishra losing his spot once again. His chances of a comeback started getting remote by the day because by now India had started using Yuvraj Singh as an all-rounder and a young all-rounder from Saurashtra, the-yet-to-be-‘Sir’ Ravindra Jadeja was also emerging rapidly on the scene.

He, however, continued his strong showing in the IPL in the fourth and fifth seasons, this time for Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers. Back in the side for India’s 2011 trips to West Indies and England, he played his last ODI against the Caribbeans. In the ill-fated tour of England, he notched up his highest Test score of 84*.

By now, however, due to Harbhajan’s poor form, Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha cemented their places in the national team and Jadeja had started showing glimpses of his talent. Amit Mishra was no longer a part of the selectors’ plans. His career was dealt a further jolt as his IPL franchise Deccan Chargers was terminated from the league.

But, Chargers were soon succeeded by Sunrisers Hyderabad as IPL’s Hyderabad franchise and Mishra’s career received a new lifeline. He did not let his new team down. With a string of impressive bowling performances and some late cameos with the bat, the Haryana lad was selected for the Indian squad which won the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. He has also been selected for the subsequent West Indies tri-series, where he has continued warming the bench.

Contrary to his international career, he has enjoyed more success in the IPL. He is the only bowler in the history of the league to have taken three hat-tricks, and stands as the league’s second highest wicket-taker behind Lasith Malinga, with 95 wickets in 76 matches.

Despite being a part of the current Indian one-day side, Mishra finds himself behind Ashwin, who has solidified himself as India’s premier spinner in all three formats and Jadeja, who has finally established himself as a leading all-rounder, in the pecking order. Despite India’s troubles in the Caribbean, he is unlikely to get a game.

Even as Murali Vijay played against Sri Lanka due to an injury to skipper MS Dhoni, Amit Mishra was still warming the bench. If IPL performances are really a criteria for selection to the national team, he seriously deserves a longer run in the team. Having been on the fringes for a long time must be very frustrating for him. Give this guy a game, he really deserves it.

As he turns 31 in November, he still has another 3-4 years of cricket left in him. He is a much better player than the statistics of 13 Tests and 15 ODIs in ten years suggest.