‘ Mishra could have taken 300 Test wickets’
Leg- spinner’s coach reckons he is the best in India after Anil Kumble
It’s been over a decade since Amit Mishra first donned India colours. But even today, the 30- year- old remains an outsider with the selectors and captains. Mishra is fashioning yet another of his comebacks with an impressive show in Zimbawbe after being a passenger in the recently concluded Champions Trophy.
And while his one oneday and Tests tally stands at a meager 18 and 13 wickets respectively, he has played in 123 first- class matches. His returns from the first- class appearances have swelled to 448 scalps and his Delhi- based coach Sanjay Bhardwaj reckons that Mishra could have had 300 Test wickets if he had been a regular in the India Test squad.
“It’s no child’s play to take 400 wickets, even in first- class cricket. He could have taken 300 Test wickets if he had been a regular in the India team because he is a wicket- taking bowler. Even at the club level, he is always looking to take wickets. But somehow, that talent, he has not been able to display at the international level,” Bhardwaj told this paper on Monday.
Mishra’s Test debut materialised only in 2008, after Anil Kumble’s deci- sion to retire from the game, but even after that he has remained on the fringes.
“Kumble had himself said that he saw his kind of potential in Amit after the latter’s debut. But I guess, in major tournaments he was ignored. This is up to the team management whether you want to play R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja or Amit Mishra.
“I think Amit may not have been able to impress the team management and they are not confident of his abilities. However, as a leg- spinner, in terms of variations and talent, after Kumble, I don’t think there is anyone better,” said Bhardwaj. Even at the domestic level, Mishra was forced to play for Haryana after the Delhi selectors ignored him. But that move, says Bhardwaj, saved him from just being a club level player.