Ashish Nehra will probably be remembered for his wide-grinned smile as much as he is for his fiery spell against England in the 2003 World Cup.
But behind that smiling face lies a man who never shied away from speaking his mind out and even after playing his last international game on Wednesday (November 1), he did not hesitate in giving a crystal clear reply to the comments made by MSK Prasad earlier.
Days after Nehra announced his retirement plans, the chairman of the selection committee had stated the veteran pacer was anyway not going to get considered for selection beyond the ongoing series against New Zealand. Those comments made many speculate that Nehra’s decision, was perhaps influenced by the selectors’ plans regarding his future.
However, the 38-year old quashed the speculations, saying that the selectors did not contact him.
“I heard this,” Nehra said. “I don’t know. The chairman of selection committee has not spoken to me about this. You have asked me this question, and I can only tell you about my interaction with the team management. When I reached Ranchi, I told Virat about my plan, and his first reaction was, ‘Are you sure? You can still play IPL. You can play as coach-cum-player.’ I said no. I am retiring completely.”
Nehra went on to say he did not ask for a farewell game and said playing his final game in front of the home crowd was a gift from God for his hard work.
“I have been saying this again and again,” Nehra said. “Luckily this game happened to be in Delhi. I have not asked for a farewell game or anything. This is perhaps one way that God has rewarded me for all the hard work I have put in over the last eight-nine years. I hope Virat and coach Ravi Shastri are part of team management because those are the people I spoke to. I have not spoken to any selector over this issue.
“When I started playing cricket, I didn’t take any selector’s permission. When I am leaving, I am not leaving with their permission,” he added.
Recently, Prasad had claimed that the selection panel had communicated with Nehra to make it clear that the selectors are looking to fuse in young blood.
“I will make it very clear and candid to you,” Prasad had said. “We all know that right from the word go that communication has been our strong point. We have clearly communicated to the player, ie. Ashish Nehra, and to the team management that we are only looking at him till the New Zealand series. If you see the pattern with which we have selected India A players, the same bowlers we have been continuing with for the past one-and-a-half years in all the A tours. That means they are very much in line. They have really done well in South Africa, also at home against New Zealand.
“This message has been very clearly communicated, we are very happy that you know the player also needs to take it in the right spirit that the new generation is coming up. Instead of waiting till the end of the New Zealand series, he felt that Delhi game itself he [would] quit so that the others can move on,” he had added.
Nehra further explained his decision to walk out of the game suddenly. Nehra not getting a single game during the series against Australia had more or less backed Prasad’s claims, but Nehra made it clear he had voluntarily sat out.
“Lot of people have been saying that Ashish Nehra didn’t play in the XI against Australia,” Nehra said. “When I went there, I went with my plan. I felt that Bhuvneshwar Kumar was ready. If you had seen earlier, [Jasprit] Bumrah and I have been playing. Two spinners play, and the third fast bowler is Hardik Pandya. So Bhuvi misses out. He, too, had been a little up and down until this year’s IPL. After the IPL, I personally felt that this is the way forward, that as a bowler I will not like to keep playing at the expense of Bhuvi.
“If there is a big event down the line in five-six months, like the World Cup, or if I have a plan to play for the next two years, then I have earned this spot. If somebody plays better than me, he can take it. It is not as if I was getting any favours by being selected. You can check my record over the last two years. If you are fond of stats. When I was doing well, I said this to Virat and Ravi Shastri. I said it is not that I don’t want to play in the XI. If you need three fast bowlers, I am here. Or if Virat says, ‘No, I want you.’ I was available. It rained in Hyderabad otherwise I was going to play that game. This is my decision for the betterment of the team,” he added.
“Even today people were wondering if Ashish Nehra will play or not, but if I was in the XV today, I was obviously going to play,” Nehra said. “I didn’t come to just look around.”
Well, this is not the first time Nehra was seen disagreeing with the selectors. One major incident took place right after he played an integral role in the 2011 World Cup triumph. The left-arm pacer was an essential member of the team, but he was surprisingly not considered for selection for the next five years before he made a sensational comeback in the T20I series against Australia last year.
Speaking about that period, Nehra said: “I don’t know about myself, but I am sure people outside would have thought if Ashish Nehra has retired or if he will ever play again. My attitude was never say never. You should just keep pushing yourself and be ready when your turn comes. I was out for four years, but I didn’t go and ask anybody why I was out. I did whatever was in my control: if you see the period of 2009, 2010 and 2011, I was the highest wicket-taker in one-dayers and T20. Not just in India but in the world, I was in the top three. Then I got injured in the 2011 World Cup semi-final, and after that, I didn’t play for three-four years.
“That is, again, up to the team management and the selectors. They were trying whatever they were trying. I knew just one thing: wake up in the morning, go train, play. There were times, even at Sonnet Club, with my coach Mr Tarak Sinha, that in peak summer nobody would be there – maybe 20 kids – but I would be bowling at a single wicket. Because I loved cricket.
“I believe if you give the game time, you will get results sooner or later. Whatever you do in the other 20 hours in the day, if you train and play for three-four hours everyday maybe I realised this too late and had suffered many injuries by then, but better late than never. After 2008, I did the best I could. I have no regret about those years. You regret whatever is your mistake. I was playing. I was not playing for India, but I was playing IPL and one-dayers and T20 for Delhi. That way there is no regret. It is not how you start, it is how you finish. I don’t think it can get better than this,” concluded the 38-year old.
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