5 players you didn't know played in Amit Mishra's international debut ft. Graeme Smith

Veteran wrist-spinner Amit Mishra announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday, September 4. He represented India in all formats, having played 22 Tests, 36 ODIs, and 10 T20Is.

In the longest format, Amit Mishra bagged 76 wickets. In ODIs and T20Is, he picked up 64 and 16 wickets, respectively. He made his international debut in an ODI against South Africa at Dhaka during the TVS Cup in 2003.

India batted first and posted a dominating total of 307/4. They then restricted South Africa to 154 all out and won the game by a huge margin of 153 runs. On his debut, Amit Mishra bowled five overs and returned figures of 1/29, grabbing the scalp of Neil McKenzie.

While he made his debut under the legendary Sourav Ganguly, the team also included some well-known names like Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Zaheer Khan.

That said, here are five players you did not know also played in Amit Mishra's international debut.

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#5 Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif of India in action - Source: Getty

Former batter Mohammad Kaif was a part of the Indian team during Amit Mishra's debut. In fact, Kaif played a huge role in their victory in that game. Batting at number four, the right-hander struck an unbeaten 95 off 103 balls.

His knock included seven boundaries and three sixes. Mohammad Kaif was also awarded 'Player of the Match' after India's victory. The 44-year-old played 13 Tests and 36 ODIs, scoring three centuries across both formats.

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#4 Parthiv Patel

India v West Indies: 1st ODI - Source: Getty

Before MS Dhoni made his ODI debut in 2004, Parthiv Patel donned the gloves for the Men In Blue. Parthiv was India's wicketkeeper when Amit Mishra played his first international match.

Parthiv did not get an opportunity to bat in the game. However, he was instrumental in Mishra bagging his first international wicket. Parthiv completed the dismissal successfully as McKenzie was caught behind off Mishra's bowling. The former wicketkeeper had also effected a successful stumping in that match.

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#3 Dinesh Mongia

ICC Champions Trophy - Australia v India - Source: Getty

Former left-handed batter Dinesh Mongia played an important innings in Amit Mishra's maiden international fixture. Batting at number six, Mongia scored an unbeaten half-century and gave India a strong finish with his quickfire batting.

He made 55 not out off just 38 balls, including six boundaries at a strike-rate of 144.73. Dinesh Mongia had a short international career overall. He played 57 ODIs and just a single T20I for the country.

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#2 Charl Willoughby

Essex v Somerset - LV= County Championship - Source: Getty

Former South Africa fast-bowler Charles Willoughby featured in Amit Mishra's international debut. He did not have a great outing as he delivered an expensive spell, returning figures of 0/77 from his 10 overs.

Not many would know that Charles Willoughby played international cricket for South Africa. He had an extremely short career for the Proteas, playing just two Tests and three ODIs between 2000 to 2003. The pacer could have been unlucky as he had a tremendous first-class career, having bagged 848 wickets from 233 matches.

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#1 Graeme Smith

India v South Africa: Group B - 2011 ICC World Cup - Source: Getty

Former South African captain Graeme Smith was among the big names whom Amit Mishra played alongside during his international debut. For Smith, it was a disastrous outing both as skipper and as a player.

With the bat, the former opener was dismissed for 1 run off six balls in a big chase. As he failed to give them the required start at the top, the entire team crumbled under pressure as South Africa lost by a huge margin eventually. However, Graeme Smith was among the most successful cricketers during his time.