“It was when Anil Kumble was injured” - Amit Mishra picks his most memorable moment after announcing retirement

Former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra has said that making his Test debut against Australia in Mohali in 2008 was the most memorable moment of his career. The 42-year-old, who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday, September 4, debuted in the match after captain Anil Kumble was ruled out due to injury.

The Haryana bowler took a match haul of 7/106 as India won by 320 runs. He told IANS:

"There are a lot of moments, but I would like to mention one special moment – my Test debut in Mohali. It was when Anil (Kumble) bhai was injured and was under a lot of pressure at that time, because entire media was saying if I could do what Anil bhai did for the Test side for so long."

"But it was a special moment when Anil bhai told me in the morning that I would be playing in the match, and encouraged me to play professionally and perform well. Then I took eight (seven) wickets on debut, including a five-wicket haul, and that will always be the most important and memorable moment of my career."

Amit Mishra holds the rare distinction of being the only bowler to take three hat tricks in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He said that while each one of them was special to him, the first hat trick helped him earn his place back in the Indian team.

"Taking a hat trick in the IPL is not an easy task, so all three of them are very special to me. That record is still there and I am still in the top ten wicket takers list in the IPL gives me a lot of happiness, despite not playing much in last two years due to my injuries."

"Hat tricks don’t happen often in a career, so all of them I took for three different IPL teams are extremely special to me. But I would definitely say that my first hat-trick in the IPL proved to be very advantageous as it opened my doors to be back in Indian team," Mishra said.

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Amit Mishra feels IPL performances are deeply apprecited, admits that performances get acknowledged

Amit Mishra played for four IPL franchises in his career, the last of them being Lucknow Super Giants. He said that performances in the T20 league are remembered largely due to the impact they have on the match.

Mishra felt that if a bowler took the wicket of any of the biggest names in the IPL then it gets remembered by fans. The 42-year-old said:

"I believe your performance there cannot be suppressed. It’s the biggest league in India and all the best players in the world come to play in it. So, if you perform there, it comes out in full view and people do appreciate it deeply."

"For example, if you dismiss someone like Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Sachin (Tendulkar) paaji or AB de Villiers in IPL, the biggest thing is people remember it and acknowledge that you performed well. Normally what happens is, a bowler takes four-five wickets and it’s soon forgotten."

"But it doesn't happen in the IPL, as if you take two-three important wicket, people recall it by saying, ‘the direction of the match changed because of those scalps’. That’s the value of the IPL - a bowler dismissing a big batter gets recognized, and it can even reward you with opportunities to break into the Indian team."

Amit Mishra finishes as the eighth highest wicket-taker in IPL history. He claimed 174 wickets in 162 matches at an economy rate of 7.38. He took four four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul in his IPL career.