SRH Amit Mishra: Won't Sacrifice Flights & Spin In T20s
Amit Mishra’s figures of 4-1-13-1 against Faisalabad Wolves were the best display of spin bowling in the CLT20 2013 Qualifiers. More importantly, they were a major reason why Sunrisers Hyderabad made it to the Group Stage of the tournament with one match to spare. (Also Read: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Faisalabad Wolves: Q4 - Match Report)
The leg-spinner also dwelt deep into his bowling – the mental and technical aspects of it – and opened up about the work he has put into it during the past year and a half.
You bowled only one over against Kandurata Maroons apparently because there were too many lefties in the opposition. But did you try and convince Shikhar to give you another over given you are the team’s specialist spinner?
I have always believed that since a leg-spinner has more variations, it is tougher for a left-hander to play him. I was waiting for a call to bowl another over, the team and the coaches were also thinking, ‘when is Amit going to bowl’. But sometimes, you don’t know what is going on in the captain’s mind and it’s best to leave some decisions to him, without thinking about it too much. Also, it was Shikhar’s first game as captain and these things happen
Was it on your mind when you were bowling against FW that you have to make up for the lack of opportunity in the last game?
Yes, it was. If any such thing like, ‘he can’t bowl to the left-handers’, comes to anyone’s mind, it becomes a challenge for me. So, when I bowled against FW I certainly had it at the back of my mind that I want to prove that I can bowl equally well to every kind of batsman.
Spinners often change their bowling in T20s – they bowl faster and flatter. You are among the very few spinners who maintain the classical attributes like flight, loop and spin in the T20 format.
I have been playing this format since the last six years. In the beginning I tied to bowl quicker and flatter in a couple of matches but I wasn’t effective because that wasn’t my bowling style. I sat and thought about it and realized that I am not the kind of bowler whose strength is containing runs. Many other people too told me that I become a dangerous bowler when I go for wickets. So, I started to work out on how I can be effective in this format without losing the attacking attributes of my bowling. There are times when the situation demands that I bowl to stop runs. But even then, I ensure that it doesn’t affect my flight or spin. I have added variations in my arsenal so that before hitting me, the batsman thinks whether it is a googly, top-spin, flipper or slider. So, even when I am bowling to stop runs, I don’t want to do it with defensive bowling.
Yes, we played so well in the IPL and at least made it to the CLT20 Qualifiers. Now that we have entered the Group Stage with a game to spare, all of us are really happy and it’s apparent on everyone’s faces too. The biggest plus that I see in our performance in this tournament so far is our batting. In the IPL our batting couldn’t click too often but now Shikhar (Dhawan) is in such good form, Parthiv (Patel) is in good nick and the following batsmen are also scoring runs. Our bowling and fielding have always been good, so having these runs on board is a huge boost for us.
Newly formed IPL teams often struggle in their first season as the players take time to gel. SRH is an exception. What do you attribute this team bonding to?
source: clt20.com
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