'I was depressed': Amit Mishra opens up on career gap after announcing retirement from cricket

At the age of 42, Amit Mishra, the veteran leg-spinner, announced his retirement from professional cricket on Thursday after a 25-year career. He revealed his battle with depression after being sidelined for five years post his debut and expressed his desire for an earlier comeback.

Mishra made his One Day International debut against South Africa at Dhaka during the TVS Cup in 2003. In his first match, he bowled five overs, took one wicket of Neil McKenzie, and finished with figures of 1/29.

Following his debut, Mishra was absent from international cricket for approximately five years. The presence of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble at their peak left little space for Mishra in the team.


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His return to international cricket came when Kumble was injured, and he made an impressive Test debut. In his first Test match in 2008 against Australia in Mohali, he became the sixth Indian to claim a five-wicket haul on debut.

His classical attacking leg-spin helped him dismiss Australian batting stars Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Shane Watson, and others. This performance established him as India's premier leg-spinner.

"After my debut, there was a 5-year gap in my career. If it wasn't there, I could have played more matches. I made my debut in Bangladesh in a One-Day match in 2003. After that, there was a 5-year gap. I couldn't return to the Indian team in five years. I was performing and doing everything. But I can't say regret. I can say that if I had made my comeback earlier, 3-4 years ago or two years ago, then I could have played more matches and performed better. So, that's one thing. There is no regret," Mishra told ANI.

During his absence from international cricket, Mishra continued playing domestic cricket for Haryana. He focused on improving his performance to catch the selectors' attention.

"Whenever I got a chance, I performed. Even though I played in such a big league, played in such big places, played all over the world, I proved myself there. I performed there when people didn't believe in me. After that, every team started to keep two left-spinners in their team. So, I am really happy with my career. Yes, there were ups and downs in my career," he added.

After more than twenty years since his debut, Mishra maintains he has no regrets. He faced depression for over a year but found ways to stay motivated despite uncertain prospects of returning to international cricket.

He admitted, "But I have no regrets. I gave my 100 per cent whenever I got a chance. And I always proved what I was told. I focused on performing. Although I was depressed for 1-1.5 years. I was angry. I was performing. At that time, it was a little limited. But I was a little worried. But after 1-2 years, I talked to myself. I said, I want to play cricket. I am playing cricket. And I am performing.

"So, how can I enhance this? What else can I add to my cricket? How can I improve my small performance? So, I started to pay attention to those things. I started talking to myself. I asked myself what improvements I have made. So, a person who loves cricket should never be depressed. Now, you have more options. So, I started to pay attention to that. I started to enjoy cricket and I got motivated."

Mishra concluded his international career with 156 wickets in 68 matches across all formats. He remained an important player for Haryana in domestic cricket and became one of the leading wicket-takers in the Indian Premier League.