NEW DELHI: Former Indian spinner and IPL legend
Amit Mishra
made a stunning admission about the age fraud that has rocked Indian cricket in the past. In a candid statement, Mishra acknowledged that his officially recorded age is inaccurate, differing from his actual age by a year.
The leg spinner acknowledged that the controversy surrounding his age played a role in his ability to participate in age-group cricket and gain entry into the cricketing system.
The 41-year-old asserted that he was unaware of the deception and shifted the responsibility to his coach from his early years.
Mishra disclosed that falsifying his age granted him an additional year to compete in
U-19 cricket
.
"Let me tell you, I have a one-year discrepancy, and my coach helped with that. I didn't even know about it. The coach called my home and asked for one more year for me. It was quite an emotional story. I was surprised and asked, 'How?' He said, 'From today, you are one year younger; now you have two more years.' I agreed," said Mishra in an interaction on Shubhankar Mishra's YouTube Channel.
During a lighthearted conversation following the 2024 IPL match between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians, former MI captain
Rohit Sharma
playfully teased Mishra about his age. Rohit humorously asked Mishra if he was truly just three years his senior, sparking a discussion about the topic.
During the same interaction, Mishra also talked about what separates Rohit Sharma from
Virat Kohli
.
"The difference is in the nature. Rohit is very open with his players. A very good thing about Rohit is that when I met him for the first time, he is the same like he is now. So who would you relate to more - the one who stays the same or the one who changes according to the situation?"
On being asked if he has seen any change in Virat Kohli, Mishra says, "Yes, very much. There was hardly any talk between us."
On being asked if captaincy was the reason behind it, Mishra says, "Yes of course. Fame and power were the reasons, because when you get power, you feel everybody is talking to you for a reason. Virat Kohli changed a lot after getting fame, power and captaincy."
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