Amit Mishra, a seasoned Indian spinner, recently acknowledged that he had lied about his age during his career. The revelation was made during a recent podcast appearance in which Mishra also discussed a comical interaction he had with Rohit Sharma during the 2024 Indian Premier League.
In Indian cricket, age fraud has long been a problem. Several players have been charged with falsifying their birthdates in order to win age-group matches. Mishra, who is presently an IPL player for the Lucknow Super Giants, disclosed that when he was younger, his coach had persuaded him to give himself a year’s younger age.
“Let me tell you, my coach assisted me with the one-year difference that I had. It was completely unknown to me. The coach contacted my house and requested an additional year for me. It was a very touching tale. Startled, I questioned, “How?” “You are one year younger as of today; you have two more years ahead of you,” he continued. On Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Mishra stated, “I agreed.”
The subject came up during a discussion of a recent IPL 2024 on-field exchange between Amit Mishra and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma. In jest, Sharma inquired about Mishra’s age.
“You first appeared when we were still in our diapers. That was the first time you appeared. You debuted at the age of twenty-one. Before Amit Mishra could respond, Rohit said, “Yes.” 20–21.
Amit Mishra, who is renowned for his wit, claimed to have asked Rohit what his true age was. During their talk, the cricket players laughed together.
“Not diapers, but in our early years, he said. “I also watched someone play when I was younger,” I said to him. Not everyone who starts playing early is 45 or 50 years old. ‘I’m 37,’ he added, laughing. Upon further verification, I asked, “Are you really 37?” He chuckled without saying anything else, Mishra continued.
The leggie began by saying that he and Sharma get along well and are unaffected by the jokes because they have a strong friendship off the pitch and have played a lot of cricket together.
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What would have occurred if I had asked if you were 37? I reasoned, though, that it wouldn’t matter because we were just kidding. And I joke around with him in the same way. It’s not anything that happened today; it’s been happening for a while,” he said.