Former India spinner Amit Mishra recently opened up on his relationship with the legendary skipper MS Dhoni during his playing days.

Mishra represented India in 22 Tests, 36 ODIs, and 10 T20Is from 2003 to 2017, claiming 76, 64 and 16 wickets respectively. The leg-spinner had to fight for a spot in the national team due to the presence of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

Once Kumble and Harbhajan retired, India got talents like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, leading to Mishra getting chances here and there.

There had been suggestions that Amit Mishra did not always have Dhoni’s full backing. However, Mishra rejected the claims, highlighting the support he received from the former captain.

"People say if Dhoni was not there my career would have been better. But who knows if he was not there maybe I would not even have been in the team. I came into the team under him only. And I kept making a comeback. He would have agreed as a captain and that is why I kept coming back. So there is a positive way to look at things," Mishra said on MensXP.

Mishra acknowledged Dhoni's guidance during his playing days, recalling how the captain offered tips and advice whenever he was in the XI.

"I did have the support. Whenever I was in the 11, it was never like Dhoni did not come to me and give me tips or tell me things. He would always tell me things. I was playing against New Zealand, which was my last one-day series. Dhoni was the captain. It was a tight game. I came to bowl, and we had scored 260-270 runs. I thought of stopping the flow of runs and not going for wickets," Mishra stated.

"After a couple of overs, Dhoni came to me and told I am not bowling what I naturally bowl. He told me not to think a lot and bowl what I always do. I did that and then got a wicket. He told me this is your bowling, bowl exactly this, don't think a lot. It was a game-changing spell. I picked up five wickets, and I think that was also my best spell. His thinking was that if I did not pick wickets, we would lose the game. This is how he supported me," he remarked.