Former Team India cricketer Amit Mishra has spoken openly on the claims that his international career suffered because of the great captain MS Dhoni. The veteran leg spinner also said that it is unfair to assume that things would have been better without Dhoni, adding that he made his India debut under his leadership.
Mishra started his international career in 2003 with an ODI match. He later played his first Test in 2008 and made his T20I debut in 2010. During his career, he appeared in 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is, taking 76 wickets in Tests, 64 in ODIs and 16 in T20Is.
Mishra’s IPL career was also long and successful. He played 162 matches in the league and took 174 wickets at an average of 23.82 and an economy rate of 7.37. He also took three hat-tricks in the IPL. Mishra retired from all forms of cricket in September 2025.
I came under the leadership of MS Dhoni – Amit Mishra
Speaking on MensXP’s YouTube channel, Amit Mishra rejected claims that MS Dhoni’s career would have progressed further if he had not been the captain. Mishra pointed out that he made his debut under MS Dhoni and was recalled several times during Dhoni’s time as captain.
Mishra said, “People say that if Dhoni had not been there, my career would have been better. But who knows, if he had not been there, I might not have even been in the team.”
He said, “I came into the team under his leadership. And I kept coming back. As a captain he would have agreed and that’s why I kept coming back. So that’s a positive way of looking at things.”
It never happened that MS Dhoni did not come to me… – Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra talked about the strong support 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 safe rather than attack.
“I got support. Whenever I was in the 11, it never happened that Dhoni didn’t 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 ODI series. Dhoni was the captain. It was a tough game. I came to bowl, and we had scored 260-270. I thought about stopping the flow of runs and not going for wickets,” Mishra said.
MS Dhoni came to me and said… – Amit Mishra
Mishra said that MS Dhoni had told him to stop thinking too much and just focus on taking wickets rather than controlling runs. The spinner said he changed his approach and took five wickets for 18 runs. Mishra called it his best spell in ODIs.
“After a few overs, Dhoni came to me and said I was not bowling what I naturally do. He told me not to think too much and bowl the same way I always do. I did the same and then took a wicket. He told me this is your bowling, bowl exactly this, don’t think too much. It was a game-changing spell. I took five wickets, and I think it was my best spell too. His thinking was if If I don’t take wickets, we will lose the game. That’s how they supported me.”
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