Ashish Nehra may be 38 but his late career renaissance continues. An integral part of India’s limited-over squads now, Nehra has always had a reputation of being injury-prone but, as he’s been trying to point out in recent interviews, that actually may not be the case.
“There is a difference between being injured and unfit,” Nehra told Times of India. “In our country, things are misinterpreted. Look at poor Mohammed Shami. He last played an ODI for India in the 2015 World Cup. He is either struggling with hamstring or his knee. But that is injury. That doesn’t mean he is unfit. Unfit is someone who gasps for breath in training. Even I had freak injuries but Ashish Nehra has been associated with injuries.”
The Indian left-arm-pacer may not be considered a tearaway pacer but he can slip in some quick ones when required. In the 2003 World Cup, he touched 149.7 kilometre per hour (93 miles per hour) and surprised many with his pace.
“At my age, I am still a fast bowler,” Nehra said, while speaking to PTI. “I was never the conventional 125-128 kmph bowler. Even today with the new ball, I set myself a target of bowling 138 kmph and I have to do that. Speed is not everything but if need be I can crank it upto 140 plus in T20s also.”
But, the 38-year-old knows that pace alone isn’t the answer.
“In India, if you are a 140 kmph plus bowler, people are happy that the bloke is quick. If he doesn’t get wickets, then people would cite lack of variation being his problem,” said Nehra. “For a swing bowler inside 130 kmph, his lack of wickets will be attributed to lack of pace. But in international cricket, pace alone can’t win you matches.”
Invariably there are questions about his future. The Indian Premier League is coming up and then the ICC Champions Trophy. Two years later, there is the World Cup.
“I can’t play IPL, keeping Champions Trophy in mind. There’s every possibility that I break down after the first training session,” said the tall fast bowler. “2019 is too far away and I can’t play that far at my age even though I never planned when I was young. Even MS Dhoni who is two years younger to me may not be thinking that far ahead.”
Finally, from a young rising sensation mentored by Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan, Nehra’s role has now changed. Now he has become the mentor on the field of play, talking to bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya about tactics and strategies.
“Now I would say I have more responsibility than pressure, given my age,” reckoned Nehra. “My responsibility is to do well, obviously, and to help the other bowlers and teammates. I have to put in more in the ground and stay involved than what it used to be in 2009-11. There were a lot of seniors. Now, there’s only MS and me who are veterans. You can help everybody by sharing your experience and keeping them calm. It’s not always about giving technical inputs.”
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