Nehra to retire from all forms of cricket after T20I vs NZ

New Delhi: Veteran India pacer Ashish Nehra would call it a day from all forms of cricket after India’s T20I match against New Zealand on November 1 scheduled to played in his home ground-the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi.

The 38-year-old left-arm speedster was recently selected for the three-match T20I series against Australia but he has informed the team management about this decision to call it a day.

A senior BCCI official also confirmed that Nehra has informed skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri about his decision to retire.

He said, “What we have heard is that Nehra has spoken to the captain and coach and informed them about his decision to retire after the T20 match in Delhi. Nehra has requested for one last match at his home ground and wants to go out on a high.”

Despite being picked in the Indian squad for the T20I’s against Australia, the veteran hasn’t yet made it into the playing XI as both the speedsters-Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has done exceptionally well so far in dictating terms against the Australian batsmen.

It was way back in the year 1999, when Nehra made his international debut under the captaincy of Mohammad Azharuddin. Since then, he has played 17 Test matches, 120 ODI’s and 26 T20 Internationals. He has 44 scalps to his name in the longest format of the game while in ODI’s and T20I’s, the left-armer has 157 and 34 wickets respectively.
Throughout his career 20-year career, he has had a lot of injuries which resulted in him having to undergo as many as 12 surgeries.

Cricket lovers would have fresh memories of him running up to bowl against England in Durban during the 2003 World Cup where he destroyed their batting order under lights with six wickets, conceding only 23 runs. That arguably is one of the best spells in his career and his ability to swing the ball both ways and accuracy with the new ball and at the death overs perhaps had made Ravi Shastri once describe him as, “one of the best bowlers that the Indian team has ever seen.”
That scintillating bowling spell remains the best by an Indian in World Cup history.

He was also a part of India’s successful World Cup campaign in 2011 where he missed out on the playing XI in the final due to a broken finger. He also has a good amount of experience playing in the IPL, where he represented five different teams in the tournament’s 10-year history.

He was also approached by a few IPL franchises for his services as the bowling coach/mentor for the upcoming edition of the tournament.

Earlier, Nehra had expressed his wishes to play for another two years. After he was selected for the series against Australia, he was quoted by ESPN Cricinfo as saying, “The only one thing that is not happy that I am still playing is my body. I can play for another couple of years but it isn’t easy for a fast bowler at 38-39, especially considering the state of my body.”

“At times when I wake up, especially in the winter in Delhi, my knees are so sore, it is half an hour before I can even leave my bed and am able to walk. I have had four surgeries in my ankle, plus my knee is always sore. But again, after half an hour or so I say to myself that I have to do it” he had added.