Ashish Nehra: “It can’t get any bigger than that, that you retire in front of your home crowd”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
India left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra has confirmed that he will bring his illustrious international career, which spanned for 18 years, to an end next month.
Nehra will bid international cricket adieu after the first Twenty20 International against New Zealand in Delhi on November 1.
Nehra, who will pen the final chapter of his international career on his home ground, will also retire from domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Despite battling through numerous injuries and 12 surgeries during hiss career, that didn’t stop the 38-year-old from winning the World Cup with India in 2011.
“I have spoken to the team management as well as the chairman of the selection committee,” Nehra was quoted as saying by NDTV. “The game against New Zealand has come in in Delhi. It can’t get any bigger than that, that you retire in front of your home crowd, where I played my first Ranji Trophy match 20 years back.
“I was always mentally strong and whenever I used to train, I always used to play for India. A lot of people are asking me why I was retiring from the IPL, that I could easily play IPL. But when I train day in and day out, I train to play for India.
“I realise that when I retire on November 1, there are five months before the next IPL and I could easily play. I could even play another year of international cricket. But that’s my decision. Once I will leave, I will leave. I won’t even play IPL.”
When asked why he had decided to retire after making a successful comeback, Nehra admitted that he always wanted to walk away on a high.
“It is always good to retire when people say ‘why’, not ‘why not’. I always wanted to retire on a high,” the veteran fast bowler said. “I feel this is the way forward. As I have said, there are no big (T20) tournaments coming. Also, the way Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) has been bowling, there have been times when I and Jaspreet Bumrah have played while Bhuvi and (Mohd) Shami have sat out.
“So I think it is the right time and my decision has been welcomed by all concerned.”
Nehra represented India in 17 Test matches, where he took 44 wickets at an average of 42.40, and 120 ODIs, in which he picked up 157 wickets at an average of 31.72. He has also featured in 26 Twenty20 Internationals and claimed 34 victims at an average of 21.44.