Published: Jul 11, 2016, 02:32 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 11, 2016, 02:32 PM (IST)
For the most part of his career, leg-spinner Amit Mishra has failed to get his due. When he first broke onto the scene, team’s current head coach Anil Kumble was the numero uno spinner and thus he had to wait for his chances. When Kumble left, first Harbhajan Singh and then Ravichandran Ashwin took the position vacated by the legend. Mishra still had to wait. ALSO SEE: PHOTOS: Team India unwinds in the Caribbean ahead of tough West Indian sojourn.
Things changed when MS Dhoni quit Tests and Virat Kohli came at the helm. An out-and-out attacking cricketer with an aggressive approach, captain Kohli went for the kill straight away and introduced his five-bowler theory, thus making room for another bowler in India’s Test XI. Mishra, being a leg-spinner, is a naturally attacking bowler and the two hit it off well instantly.
Since then, ‘Mishi’ has been a regular feature in the Indian Test team and has been delivering for his captain. Travelling with the team to the Caribbean for a four-Test series, Mishra started the tour well by picking a four-wicket haul in the practice game against WICB President’s XI. What made the effort more special that it came on an unresponsive track. The spinner did not shy away from crediting the ‘positive environment’ created by his skipper for his tremendous performance. ALSO SEE: VIDEO: ‘Humanly impossible to play the way Sachin Tendulkar did’, says Virat Kohli.
In an interview to BCCI’s official website, the wily leg-spinner said: “Virat Kohli is a positive person and he has created a similar positive environment within the team. He always supports me. There are no boundaries. Whenever I want to share something with him, I am free to express my opinion. He tells me, “You’re a wicket taking bowler and that is what you must do. You stay positive and stick to your strengths. Do not think about anything else”.
The captain-bowler understanding augurs well for Team India ahead of the beginning of a hectic and Test-heavy season. With a bowler as team’s head coach and all the stakeholders being on the same page, fans can expect a much-improved performance in the upcoming Test series that begins with the first Test in Antigua on July 21.
