Amit Mishra alleges Virat Kohli stopped responding after 2017 injury assurances
On October 23, 2026, former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra accused Virat Kohli of ignoring him and breaking promises during an appearance on Aakash Chopra’s podcast Baith & Bol.
Mishra, who made his international debut in 2003, was described in the interview as one of India’s best leg-spinners and said he was known for his variations. He represented India across all three formats, appearing in 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is. In the longer form he took 76 wickets in 22 matches.
Mishra recalled suffering a leg injury in India’s T20I against England in Bengaluru in February 2017 and said he spoke with then coach Anil Kumble as he left the ground. “I got my leg injured during that time in Bangalore. When I was leaving after getting injured, Anil Kumble was the coach. So I told Anil Bhai, I said, ‘Anil Bhai…’. He said, ‘Don’t worry. As soon as you get fit, you automatically… you will come back,’” Mishra told Chopra.
He said he also raised the matter with Virat Kohli after Kohli became captain and quoted Kohli as offering similar reassurance about a return once Mishra recovered. “Then, Virat Kohli became the captain after this. I also asked Virat; I said, ‘Brother, what needs to be done?’ He said, ‘You don’t worry. Get fully fit and comfortable, and you are there [in the team],” Mishra said on the podcast.
According to Mishra, the assurances did not lead to any follow-up from Kohli after he regained fitness, and he outlined attempts to get clarity on his selection prospects. “So, I went to him. I asked, ‘Brother, what’s the situation?’ So he said, ‘I will let you know in a week to ten days.’ Then, one week passed, two weeks passed, three weeks passed; there was absolutely no update from him. I called him… but he did not pick up the call. I messaged him, but there was no reply,” Mishra said, adding that he later stopped trying to contact Kohli.
Mishra expressed disappointment over what he described as inconsistent treatment of injured players, saying others who had longer or more serious layoffs were given comebacks while he received no explanation. “I called again; he did not answer. I called twice more, still nothing… so I also let it go. Then I thought, ‘Brother, what can we do?’ When someone does not want you, what can you do? When players who got more severely injured than you, and were injured for much longer, made their comebacks… yet, I have never received any answer to this day,” he said.
His final international appearance was the third T20I against England in Bengaluru on February 1, 2017, a match India won by 75 runs, and Mishra did not return to the national side thereafter despite successful spells in the Indian Premier League. His comments on Baith & Bol provided his account of the circumstances surrounding the end of his India career.
Baith & Bol episode 009, containing Mishra’s interview, was scheduled to be released at 6 P.M. on the day of publication on YouTube, Facebook and Spotify.