Back in the one day fold after six long years, leg-spinner Amit Mishra reckons it was his success in the second Indian Premier League in South Africa which resuscitated his ODI career.
The chubby leggie has been struggling to shed the Test specialist's tag and repeatedly pointed to his success in the Twenty20, considered an excessively batsman-biased format, to make his point that he can excel in the shorter formats as well.
The reward finally came with the selectors today picking him for next month's tri-series in Sri Lanka and the subsequent Champions Trophy and Mishra said he owes his comeback to IPL.
"The selection in the ODI team is a reward for the hard work I have put in over the last few years. I am really very happy because at last my struggle paid off. It came late but it eventually came. I have no hard feelings against anyone," an elated Mishra told PTI.
"Obviously, my performance in IPL in South Africa, besides the recent Emerging Players tournament in Australia, has prompted the selectors to include me in the team and I promise I will live up to their faith if I get a chance," Mishra said.
Mishra, who recorded a hat-trick in the first edition of IPL in India, took 14 wickets from 11 matches in the league's second edition in South Africa.
In the Emerging Players' tournament, Mishra took 13 wickets from six outings as India went on to win the title.
The diminutive leggie, who replaced left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha in the squad for the September 8-14 Sri Lanka tri-series and the September 5-October 20 Champions Trophy, said the experience of bowling in the South African pitches in IPL II would come handy in the Champions Trophy.
"I bowled well in South Africa in conditions that are more suitable for fast bowlers. I adjusted to the conditions early there and I think the selectors have picked me keeping in mind that," he said.
A regular in the Test squad, Mishra played the last of his three ODIs was back in 2003 against South Africa.
In his three ODI matches so far, Mishra has taken two wickets, while the 26-year-old's Test record is more impressive.
In five Test matches, Mishra has taken 20 wickets, including a five-wicket haul in his debut against Australia at Mohali last year.
