Virat Kohli explains why Amit Mishra was added to the T20I squad

What’s the story?

Having been drafted into the T20I squad as a last-minute replacement, Amit Mishra spent the opening match witnessing the action from the sidelines. With Yuzvendra Chahal also in the mix, the team management had to make a tough call in leaving out one of the two.

Chahal got the nod and the selectors’ decision to include two leg-spinners in the squad was immediately thrust into the spotlight. However, skipper Virat Kohli has explained the reasoning behind the 34-year old’s presence in the contingent.

Extra Cover: Virat Kohli reveals why he decided to open the batting in Kanpur T20I

At the end of the first T20I in Kanpur, Kohli felt, “He (Mishra) has done well and that is why he is in the side. You could say we were travelling from the West Indies (in August) so we did not have that much time on hand but he does in the well in the IPL. In 2014 World T20, he did really well. It was unfortunate that he was not part of the squad in the 2016 edition. He is a guy with variation and is any day useful on a bare wicket.”

In case you did not know...

Both Chahal and Mishra play for Haryana in the domestic circuit. Interestingly, the similarities do not end there. A quick look at their overall records (domestics in Chahal’s case) would suggest that both leg-spinners are better in the white-ball formats than in the red-ball one.

The heart of the matter

The selectors had drafted in Mishra and off-spinner Parvez Rasool to replace Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the 3-match series. The move was intended to rest the lead spin duo ahead of the upcoming Test affairs against Bangladesh and Australia.

While Rasool got his maiden T20I cap, Mishra was left out of the playing eleven as the think tank opted for the younger option in Chahal. The 26-year old did not disappoint and finished the match as one of the few positives (Suresh Raina’s comeback being the other) for India in an otherwise dismal outing. His two-wicket burst briefly raised the home team’s hopes but England still managed to cruise to a 7-wicket victory.

What next?

After his impressive showing in Kanpur, Chahal should be able to retain his place in the playing eleven. With the focus poised towards the team’s batting lineup, Rasool might feature in the next game as well. In such a scenario, Mishra is the one likely to miss out unless India consider the rare possibility of utilising all three spinners.

Sportskeeda’s Take

With 14 wickets from 8 T20Is at an average of 13.71 and 64 scalps from 36 ODIs at 23.60, Mishra is arguably India’s best limited-overs spinner. To unleash him only on turning tracks would be a disservice both to himself as well as his replacement. Like any other cricketer, a spinner’s true calibre is often judged from performances across different types of pitches.