Ashish Nehra to retire from international cricket
Nehra since his return has put up some memorable performances and used his experience to the best effect for the team.
Indian pacer Ashish Nehra who was recently named in the Indian team for the ongoing T20I series against Australia is all set to call it a day on his international career. The 38-year-old having made a remarkable comeback to the national setup after being out of action for half a decade. Reports now suggest that the veteran has made the decision to hang up his boots on November 1 with the game against New Zealand.
Team India will play the opening game of the T20I series against the Kiwis at the Feroz Shah Kotla and Nehra chose that as the occasion to retire from international cricket. Against all odds the injury-prone pacer earned a spot back in the Indian team owing to his successful IPL stint. Playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2014 and 2015 seasons he made the world aware of his abilities with the ball.
He was MS Dhoni’s go-to man picking wickets with the new ball and restricting the flow of runs in the death overs with his accurate and smart bowling. Nehra was not just a bowler in the team but a mentor for the youngsters, considering that he was included in the national team for the T20Is in 2016 on the tour of Australia for the first time after since the World Cup 2011 and played the subsequent Asia Cup T20 and the World T20 as well.
Caught the team by surprise
The pacer has discussed his plans with the Indian captain Virat Kohli as well as the team management following which the decision was made. “He (Nehra) called the entire squad and said he is calling it quits from international cricket. That caught the entire team by surprise but he requested if he could play his last game at his home ground in Delhi,” a source close to the development told TOI.
The official also stated that he had planned for it and was looking to retire right at the end of the Australia series in Hyderabad but since the team plays the next match at his home ground he decided to make that the occasion.
“The team was easing him into top-flight cricket. He has not played any cricket after getting injured in the last IPL. He said he would have retired after the third match against Australia in Hyderabad. Since India play their next T20 in Delhi, Nehra prefers to play that match,” the official further added.
While his international career spans 18 years he was forced to retire from Tests a decade ago and his last ODI was the World Cup 2011 semi-final against Pakistan where he injured his finger and was ruled out of the final.
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