'Work on fitness, extend your career': Virender Sehwag's gives priceless advice to IPL veteran to prolong his career

One of the most interesting features of the Indian Premier League this season has been the re-emergence of "veteran" cricketers, many of whom have played starring roles in their sides. From Ajinkya Rahane and Mahendra Singh Dhoni showing off their big-hitting skills for Chennai Super Kings and Wriddhiman Saha shining at the top of the order for Gujarat Titans to Piyush Chawla and Mohit Sharma being in the running for the Purple Cap, several experienced players have enjoyed great seasons thus far. 

One of the teams that has called on the services of a "veteran" has been Lucknow Super Giants, who have had a fairly inconsistent season so far. The loss of captain KL Rahul due to injury has led them to reshuffle their side a bit, which has given the opportunity to several members of their extended squad. One of the players who have benefited from this opportunity is Amit Mishra.

The experienced leg-spinner has impressed hugely in the games that he has featured in this season. The 40-year-old has taken six in wickets in six appearances this season while maintaining an economy rate of 7.27.

As such, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has advised Mishra to follow the example of fellow vets Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, among others, and work on his fitness to be able to come back stronger in the next season of the tournament.

Sehwag said that Mishra's talent was still very much there, which is why he could still contribute with the ball in future editions of the tournament. He went on to explain that players got slower with age and might not be able to run between the wickets, field, and recover at the same pace but could still perform to a high level. He even gave the example of Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar, saying that even he could hit some great shots if you handed him a bat.

“His (Amit Mishra's) talent didn't go anywhere. As age grows, you go slower. A batter retires because he had to field for 20 overs, keep himself fit. If you hand Sunny bhai (Sunil Gavaskar) a bat even today, he can hit some great shots. But running between the wickets, fielding, and recovery... that won't happen,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz ahead of LSG's game against Sunrisers.

Sehwag went on to say that he always advised cricketers to extend their career as much as possible, citing the examples of Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit, and Shikhar Dhawan. He said that Mishra had a year to transform himself and extend his career, even offering to help him out on his fitness journey if he felt that he wouldn't be able to get to the required level.

“I always say to cricketers, extend your career as much as possible. Mishra ji has one year; he can make a great transformation and extend his career. Dhoni has done it, Kohli and Rohit are doing that as well, even Dhawan. They're all doing it so they can extend their career by a year or two. And they all have good fitness. If Mishraji is listening, play next year as well, put on the hard yards. If you can't, contact me, I'll make sure you do,” Sehwag further said.