I was never the conventional 125-128 kmph bowler: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra is one of the longest serving cricketers of India. The veteran fast bowler is still hungry for success after being in the game for more than 15 years. The Delhi player will enter his 38^th year in the coming month of April.

Nehra is the oldest fast bowler India has. He has battled many injuries over the years and is still going strong. The injury gods have been kind to him lately as the speedster is preparing for the Indian Premier league which is just around the corner.

The 37-year-old played two Vijay Hazare Trophy games and looked satisfied with his effort. Nehra was talking to PTI when he was asked about the 2019 world cup. He shrugged it off and said that he doesn’t think that far.

Nehra said, “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. Right now, I am preparing for IPL since Delhi hasn’t qualified for Hazare Trophy. Then there’s the Champions Trophy.”

People often talk about his age and his consistency but all Ashish is concerned about is his bowling and pace. Nehra said that he is not the one who bowls 145 kmph but can get there if needed. He explained that it takes a toll on the body to bowl at that speed.

Nehra said, “At my age (he will be 38 next month), I am still a fast bowler. 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.”

The Delhi man feels that his responsibility is to pass on his invaluable experience to the youngsters and bring the sense of calmness into this young Indian side. “If anyone says that he doesn’t feel pressure at international level is lying. But at this stage of my career more than pressure, I feel a sense of responsibility as a senior cricketer – to help young bowlers with inputs,” Nehra said.

He feels that it his and MS Dhoni’s responsibility to handle this young team in pressure situations. As both are the senior most players in the team. “Me and MS are two guys from different age groups. Our job is to bring a sense of calmness, our experience in this team,” Nehra was quoted saying while talking to PTI.

The Indian pacer was asked about consistently bowling at the speed of 150kmph which he explained well. He said, “Look, I am not a great fan of speedometer where even slower ones are shown to be 140 kmph. As far as 150 kmph is concerned, I don’t think there’s anyone who can bowl that fast consistently. May be 2-3 balls in an entire spell.”

He also said that is it is humanly not possible to bowl continuously at that speed. “Because it’s not humanly possible to bowl at that speed for long. And then at 150 kmph, the ball stops swinging which will make the bowler ineffective. Rather if one can hit the right length at 140kmph and get it to swing, he would have done a far better job,” explained Nehra.

Ashish was offered a test role in 2009 which he declined. One of the most successful coaches, Gary Kirsten asked Nehra to make a comeback into test cricket but Nehra was skeptical about his fitness and said no. He feels that it is one his regrets.

“When I look back, perhaps that’s one regret I have. In 2013 when I played 6 Ranji Games in 6 weeks, I realised that I should have accepted that offer from Gary to play Test matches. From 30-34, I could have easily played four years of Test cricket and may have played another 30-35 matches. But then that’s life,” Nehra revealed.