Ashish Nehra reveals why he abused M S Dhoni in a match against Pakistan

After 19 years of what had been a troublesome, yet glorious career, Ashish Nehra hung his boots up from international cricket after India’s first T20 International against New Zealand at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. He returned wicket-less after four overs but earned accolades from the audience for an inspiring career. Earlier in his career, the left-arm pacer used to keep an animated outlook on the field of play.

It showed off during a game between India and Pakistan when he hurled abuses at a young Mahendra Singh Dhoni for letting a catch go behind the stumps. Nehra’s comments were caught on the mic and they were clearly audible to the viewers. However, in a recent interview with sports anchor Jatin Sapru, Nehra revealed why he expressed disappointment.

“That was in the heat of the moment. I know you are speaking about Mahendra Singh Dhoni video. That video became more popular when Mahendra Singh Dhoni reached where he is now,” Nehra said.

Shahid Afridi was batting on 10, with a couple of boundaries and was looking ominous. However, Nehra dished out a good length delivery that pitched on off-stump and shaped away. The ball took the edge of Afridi’s bat, but Dhoni was unable to latch on to the catch.

To add insult to injury, the ball raced away to the boundary. The left-arm pacer was furious and he vented his anger on Dhoni, who was playing his second ODI series after making his debut against Bangladesh in the same year.

A far more matured Nehra after 2005

The incident took place way back in 2005 and since then Nehra has become mature as a cricketer. While as many as 12 surgeries took a toll on his body, he kept making comebacks to prove his critics wrong. An Indo-Pak contest always generates buzz and such heated moments are pretty common and shouldn’t be taken into account for judging a cricketer’s attributes.