Basseterre (St Kitts): Amit Mishra has played alongside Anil Kumble and now he is back to picking the brains of the legendary leg-spinner turned coach.
Mishra, who was the pick of the bowlers in India’s first practice match on the tour of the West Indies here with figures of 4/67, expects that his own experience of playing in the Caribbean coupled with Kumble’s wealth of knowledge will help him a lot in the four-Test series.
“Yes, the experience is going to help. I have played only one Test, but played more One-day cricket in the Caribbean. Anil bhai is with us and his experience is going to matter a lot. He has played here and he keeps telling us about the conditions. We will utilise his experience and form a strategy together,” Mishra was quoted as saying by the bcci.tv.
Mishra was part of the Kumble’s farewell Test way back in 2008. So what all has he learnt from the fellow leg-spinner?
“There are many things that he tells me like my bowling technique, landing and finishing. Looking at the wicket, he tells me what are the areas where I can bowl and the kind of fields that I can set on a slow wicket,” said Mishra.
Mishra also spoke about his rapport with Test captain Virat Kohli.
“Virat Kohli is a positive person and he has created a similar positive environment within the team. He always supports me. There are no boundaries. Whenever I want to share something with him, I am free to express my opinion. He tells me ‘You’re a wicket taking bowler and that is what you must do. You stay positive and stick to your strengths’.”
On being able to bowl a consistent line and length, Mishra said: “I bowl about two hours daily in the nets and also bowl with one stump for another half hour so that I do not lose my accuracy. It requires a lot of effort and I never shy away from working hard. I make sure that when I am not able to land my variation in the right spots, my leg spin, which is my most important weapon works perfectly.
“There are times when as a bowler you do not get the desired rhythm and in those times your leg spin (stock ball) must land perfectly. I bowl a lot in the nets and that is the reason why I have been able to be more accurate,” he explained.
Talking about his performance in the warm-up, Mishra felt he got a lot out of bowling on a flat track.
“I was trying to vary my speed and was looking to confuse the batsmen. I didn’t want them to know at what speed I was bowling. I was also mixing up my deliveries; bowling straighter ones in between and turning the rest. I am very happy that on a slow wicket I could dismiss four batsmen,” he added.