"IPL helped me a lot financially. Plus, for my comeback, that platform helped me a lot," said Mishra.
India's veteran spinner Amit Mishra, who announced his retirement from professional cricket on Thursday, revealed how the Indian Premier League (IPL) helped him financially and provided a platform for his comeback.
"IPL helped me a lot financially. Plus, for my comeback, that platform helped me a lot," said Mishra.
Later, due to his impressive performances in T20 cricket, he received a call from Virender Sehwag, who invited him to play for his team.
"After five years, I was selected in IPL because at that time, leg spinners were not considered for T20. Viru Bhai [Virender Sehwag] called me and told me that he wanted me in his team because I had played well in T20," he told news agency ANI.
Mishra burst onto the international scene in 2003 when he made his ODI debut against South Africa in Dhaka during the TVS Cup. It was a modest outing for him, he bowled a five-over spell, took the wicket of Neil McKenzie, and returned with figures of 1/29.
After his debut, Mishra was out of the international spotlight for nearly five years. With Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble at the peak of their careers, Mishra found it difficult to break into the national side.
During his time away from the international stage, Mishra toiled in domestic cricket for Haryana, consistently performing in hopes of swaying the selectors. His sole ambition was to keep proving himself, even when few believed in his skillset.
The Delhi-born cricketer made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2008, under the captaincy of Sehwag. Since then, Mishra has played in 162 IPL matches, in which he registered 174 wickets.
He concluded his IPL career as the tournament's seventh-highest wicket-taker, with an average of 23.82 and an economy rate of 7.37.
One of the lesser-known yet remarkable records in IPL history belongs to Amit Mishra: he is the only player to have taken three hat-tricks for three different teams.
His first hat-trick came in 2008 for Delhi Daredevils, the second in 2011 for Kings XI Punjab, and the third in 2013 while representing Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Reflecting on his journey, Mishra expressed disappointment that leg-spinners were long overlooked as match-winners. He also acknowledged the influence of Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.
"I took the hat-trick and took five wickets, and I made a comeback in the Indian team and started doing well in T20. I am very sad that very late people recognised that wicket-taker has always been leg spinners, look at Shane Warne and Anil Bhai [Anil Kumble]," said the 42-year-old.
Mishra ended his career with 68 appearances across all formats for India, taking a total of 156 wickets in the national jersey.