Veteran Indian spinner Amit Mishra is one of the highest wicket-takers in the Indian Premier League and recently had a shocking admission with regard to age fudging during a candid chat on a podcast. Mishra, currently featuring for the Lucknow Super Giants, confessed that he was asked by his coach to reduce one year from his age when he used to be a young, budding cricketer.
He joins the list of those guilty of age fraud after Mishra revealed that he was 22 years old when he made his debut for India in 2003, with the recorded age at the time being 21. He said it was his coach who did the needful.
“Let me tell you, I have a one-year discrepancy, and my coach helped with that. I didn’t even know about it. So the coach called my home and asked for one more year for me. It was quite an emotional story. I was just surprised—’How?’ He said, ‘From today, you are one year younger; now you have two more years.’ I agreed,” Amit Mishra shared oQn Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast.
WATCH – Ravichandran Ashwin Unleashes Batting Fury: Smashes 20-Ball 45 In TNPL
The topic of age was dragged into the podcast when one was discussing a light moment between former Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra and current Indian white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma during IPL 2024. During a game between the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants, Rohit couldn’t resist taking a dig at Mishra over his age by inquiring if he was genuinely 41 years old.
Unplugged FT. Amit Mishra.
– Virat Kohli vs Naveen Inside story
– KL Rahul vs Goenka Inside story
– Rohit Sharma की असली Age
– Shubhan Gill vs Ruturaj Gaikwad #TeamIndia #RohitSharma #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/5odU3l3kT8— Shubhankar Mishra (@shubhankrmishra) July 15, 2024
That ”Arre yaar” felt personal 😂 pic.twitter.com/oZ9nsYZao7
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) May 1, 2024
“You made your debut when we were in our nappies. That’s when you made your debut. You made your debut when you were 20?” Rohit joked and to this, Amit Mishra responded with a grin, “Yes. 20-21.”
On being asked to share the rest of his conversation with Rohit, the veteran spinner narrated that he too poked fun at the Hitman’s age.
“Not diapers, but he said when we were young. I said to him, ‘I also watched someone play when I was young.’ Many people start playing early; it doesn’t mean they are now 45 or 50. He laughed and said, ‘I’m 37.’ I later confirmed and said, ‘Are you really 37?’ He laughed and didn’t say anything,” Amit Mishra revealed.
ALSO READ: Brian Lara Names More Skills West Indies Batter Than Sachin Tendulkar
“If I say to him ‘Are you really 37?’ then what will happen? But I think, no, we were teasing each other, then he teases me. And that is how it is with me, having a laugh with him. It’s been happening for years now, not just today,” he added.
In effect, this kind of raillery reveals the light moments that linger in the hearts of these two cricketing veterans despite the weighty concerns of age issues relevant to professional sports.
