Since they are leg-spinners by profession, twists and turns are nothing new for Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra. But they have both found it tough to deal with the sudden, unexpected changes in the trajectory of their career graphs of late. Competing for a slot in the Indian team, it’s been a see-saw battle in every sense, as their respective ups and downs have never coincided.

Not too long ago, Mishra was a perpetual fringe player while Chawla, six years his junior, was seen as Anil Kumble’s heir apparent. But a turn of events over the last year has inverted the country’s leg-spin hierarchy, which was once again clear in the national selection meeting on Monday. While the 26-year-old Mishra was part of the Emerging team and the Champions Trophy probables, Chawla was left wondering when his chance would come again, especially with Rahul Dravid’s inclusion an indication that the committee headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth was not pursuing a youth policy any longer.

Mishra acknowledged the irony of the situation when asked about Chawla’s predicament. “I know what he must be feeling. I’ve seen worse days,” Mishra told The Indian Express. “I was performing consistently on the domestic circuit and suddenly there was talk about this young leggie (Chawla). At one point, when I was injured for more than two years, I thought my career was over,” he added.

The Haryana bowler stressed the need for a positive mindset when the chips were down. “It’s important for all players to be confident but it’s absolutely vital for a leg-spinner. For this kind of bowling, you require a lot of self-belief. An insecure leggie can never be successful in an art where picking up wickets depends on tempting the batsmen with flight.”

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