Amit Mishra | Under-appreciated and frozen out, can the IPL star reincarnate again?

Abraham de Villiers is batting on an unbeaten 63. A flurry of wickets at the other end has seen the right-hander become more and more calculated with each passing over. It is the second day of the first test. The ball is turning square and the first South African innings is crumbling around it, on the otherwise fast-bowling-friendly Mohali track.

But against the Kings XI, Mishra showed how far he has come away from the 'classical spinner' tag. From being a big turner of the ball to the bowler who can keep any batsman guessing. From being constantly ignored by the selectors, and Dhoni in particular, to the bowler who should probably be one of India’s first choice spinners. Mishra’s supporters have pointed fingers at Dhoni’s defensive-minded captaincy and Mishra has time and again showed why they are not wrong, and what an asset he can be when used well. And Zaheer, like Kohli for the test side, has used him well.

In what was a man-of-the-match display, Mishra picked up 4 wickets exhibiting his entire repertoire of variations. First Marsh missed a simple flighted leg-break to find himself stumped, then Miller missed a slider to get trapped plumb in front of the wicket. Maxwell departed to a flighted delivery outside off that didn’t turn much and then finally it was Vohra’s turn, getting bowled to a googly that turned that extra bit.

Mishra showed off all his party tricks, underlining his versatility and how he continues to improve with age. Yet, Zaheer didn’t call him back for his 4th and final over. That’s unheard of- a bowler picks 4 wickets in his first 3 overs, conceding only 11 runs and still doesn’t get to bowl his last over? Maybe Zaheer was also thinking like Dhoni. What if he concedes more runs? What if he bowls those slow leg-breaks and concedes runs? And that is the argument that has seen the demise of leg spinners over the years.

Amit Mishra started off as a classical leggie. Flighting the ball and turning it massively, Amit Mishra is one of a kind in the present generation. In a country that has produced spin greats ranging from Vinoo Mankad to Bishan Singh Bedi, Mishra felt like the ideal candidate to carry the baton forward. Too bad he burst onto the scene when the Indian bowling was shouldered by two other greats of the game in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. So Mishra had to wait for his chance. And wait he did.

Making his test debut in 2008 against the mighty Australia, Mishra replaced then India captain Anil Kumble and played his heart out. His 5 wickets in the first innings included heavyweights like Shane Watson and Michael Clarke. Clarke, who has made a career out of mastering spin bowling, was riddled to be caught plumb in front, as Mishra straightened one from round the wicket. The wait on the sidelines looked to have smartened the Delhi man and more was to follow. Not all sweet though.

So much so that he lost out to the fading Harbhajan Singh and the untested Pawan Negi in a bid for a place in India’s World T20 squad this year. In fact since his T20I debut, Mishra has seen four different spinners come and go, while he was unable to cement a spot for himself in the squad, let alone the eleven.

Rahul Sharma, the tall leggie from Jalandhar, was drafted into the side following “excellent IPL performances”. Given his height, it was expected Rahul would extract bounce and turn Down Under and be India’s secret weapon. But it was not to be. His lacklustre performances meant he was never recalled to the side again.

But now the selectors had something concrete to point at. Amit Mishra had surprisingly underperformed in the IPL, not once but twice, picking up 7 and 9 wickets respectively in 2014 and 2015. Decent numbers for an average bowler, but not for someone like Mishra. Axar Patel had 17 and 13 in those two seasons, and obviously the decision swung in the left-armer’s favour. Clear as a day you would think.

But then only last week Mishra became the second highest wicket-taker in IPL history, and now boasts of 116 wickets in 101 matches, including three hat-tricks for three different sides. A proper legend in the IPL world. That definitely should have got him in the side more often over the years then? 'Balance of the side', 'single-dimensional' were some of the new excuses thrown up. Not entirely incorrect, but not entirely accurate either. If there is something Amit Mishra has proved over the years, it is that he is not willing to stop learning, evolving, and reinventing himself.

At 33, this might be Mishra’s last genuine chance of making a name for himself in the international domain. With India playing a lot of test matches in the rest of the year and Ashwin looking out-of-form suddenly, the Indian side might need to bank on the leg-spinner for success. As far as the limited overs are concerned, apparently only Pawan Negi stands between Mishra and a place in the side. Or maybe Harbhajan as well. But with Kohli assuming Dhoni’s soon-to-be-vacant captaincy throne in the near future, hope is not entirely lost for the Delhi man. With another 4-for in the IPL to his name this season already, Mishy would be hoping to do something his younger peers have successfully done over the years, force the issue of his selection with a strong IPL performance. Whether that would be enough or not is another matter though. Atleast AB de Villiers would be hoping it isn’t.