It’s not a rare sight in India to see one veteran heaping some praise of words on another one. Going by this, India’s veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has spilt some inspirational words for his fellow mate and a world cup winner Ashish Nehra. Harbhajan said looking at the skill sets Nehra has acquired over the years, he has been tremendous even at the age of 37.
The left-arm seamer was instrumental in India’s T20I series win over England, having picked up three wickets in as many matches. Harbhajan, who is believed to know Nehra from past 20 years, for now, said, ‘High skill level, analytical mind and thorough knowledge about his own body that has helped him sustain for so long.’
He said Nehra’s experience helped Virat Kohli as a captain to make few experimental choices on the field, given he had trust in Nehra to see his side through in the end. Ageing almost equal, Harbhajan said he knows what all pain a bowler of his age have to go through to find success.
“His skill level is in a different league. Like Virat Kohli can gauge what a bowler will bowl and exactly what shot he will hit, Ashish exactly knows what a batsman can hit if he bowls a particular delivery and sets the field accordingly. I know the amount of pain he has gone through but what helped him is knowing his body.”
When asked about how even at such an age he is able to bowl somewhere near 140 kph, Harbhajan said the bone density is the secret mantra of him. Because Nehra is lean and has a decent bone density, he is able to produce more pace while bowling.
Adding few more points to the explanation, the offie said Nehra has been a prolific runner too which has helped him gain rhythm early on.
“That’s because of his bone structure. He looks lean but has a high bone density. If he sits on you, you would suddenly feel, ‘Gosh this guy is heavy’. But he doesn’t look like a big bodied beefed up guy. Also he runs a lot. He is still one of the best runners in this Indian team. After so many injuries, he has worked a lot on his lower body. He bowls fast because of a good lower body and synchronization in his run-up.”
With the champions trophy coming up in four months time, Ashish Nehra would want to taste the final silverware of his career by wanting him to see playing in England. On this, Harbhajan said Nehra abused his body and took proper care. So he should be ready enough to stand 50 overs for fielding and 10 overs for bowling.
“Your age is exactly what you feel. Ashish never abused his body, checked his diet, did hard yards with conviction and has got the results.”