Former Team India cricketer Amit Mishra has opened up about claims that his international career suffered because of legendary skipper MS Dhoni. The veteran leg-spinner also said that it was unfair to assume things would have turned out better without Dhoni, adding that he made his India debut under him.
Mishra began his international career with an ODI match in 2003. He later played his first Test in 2008 and made his T20I debut in 2010. Over his career, he featured in 22 Tests, 36 ODIs, and 10 T20Is, taking 76 wickets in Tests, 64 in ODIs, and 16 in T20Is.
Mishra also had a long and successful IPL career. He played 162 matches in the league and picked up 174 wickets at an average of 23.82 and an economy rate of 7.37. He also claimed three hat-tricks in the IPL. Mishra retired from all forms of cricket in September 2025.
I Came Into the Came Under MS Dhoni Only – Amit Mishra
Speaking on MensXP’s YouTube channel, Amit Mishra rejected claims that his career would have grown more if MS Dhoni had not been captain. Mishra pointed out that he made his debut under MS Dhoni and earned several recalls during Dhoni’s time as captain.
“People say if Dhoni was not there my career would have been better. But who knows if he was not there maybe I would not even have been in the team,” Mishra said.
“I came into the team under him only. And I kept making a comeback. He would have agreed as a captain and that is why I kept coming back. So there is a positive way to look at things,” he added.
It Was Never Like MS Dhoni Did Not Come to Me… – Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra spoke about the strong backing he received from MS Dhoni during his time with the Indian team. He recalled his final ODI against New Zealand, a tight match where he initially tried to play it safe rather than attack.
“I did have the support. Whenever I was in the 11, it was never like Dhoni did not come to me and give me tips or tell me things. He would always tell me things. I was playing against New Zealand, which was my last one-day series. Dhoni was the captain. It was a tight game. I came to bowl, and we had scored 260-270 runs. I thought of stopping the flow of runs and not going for wickets,” Mishra stated.
MS Dhoni Came to Me and Told… – Amit Mishra
Mishra said MS Dhoni told him to stop overthinking and focus on taking wickets rather than just controlling runs. The spinner stated that he changed his approach and went on to claim five wickets for 18 runs. Mishra described it as his best spell in ODIs.
“After a couple of overs, Dhoni came to me and told I am not bowling what I naturally bowl. He told me not to think a lot and bowl what I always do. I did that and then got a wicket. He told me this is your bowling, bowl exactly this, don’t think a lot. It was a game-changing spell. I picked up five wickets, and I think that was also my best spell. His thinking was that if I did not pick wickets, we would lose the game. This is how he supported me,” he added.
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