New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS): Veteran spinner Amit Mishra has said that he is still hopeful of making it to the Indian team. The 37-year-old last played an international match in a T20I against England at Bengaluru in 2017, ending with figures of 1/23.

"Of course, I do! That is why I am still playing. I am not someone who will keep playing just for IPL. My fight is with myself. I should always be ready and prepared when a call from the Indian team comes. That is the belief I always have. Yes, I am still hopeful of making a comeback," he told cricket.com.

Mishra said that he always tries to keep himself motivated. "I have always tried to reflect on who is going to get the benefit if I continue to be demotivated? It will benefit my competitors. After every rejection, I have tried to work even harder on my skills," he said.

"I have always tried to stay away from the negativity, as there are very few people in life who would motivate you when you are down. Self-motivation is very important. We all are surrounded by pessimism when we don't see much success. If we try to work harder, darker thoughts generally go away."

Mishra has 76 Test wickets to his name along with 64 in ODIs and 16 in T20Is. His last ODI came in a match against New Zealand in Visakhapatnam in 2016 in which he won the Man of the Match award for his five-wicket haul as the Kiwis were bundled out for 79 while chasing a target of 270.