On this wicket, 173 was not a big target: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra has been playing cricket at the highest level for more than 15 years. It is quite usual for a player’s career to last this long but for a fast bowler, it is very hard to be fit for such a long period of time. The man from Delhi is an exception.

Nehra was talking to the press after the match where he looked back on their loss against Kolkata Knight Riders where they fell short by 17 runs. He thinks that the spell from Kuldeep and Narine changed the game. The 38-year-old said “The spell of Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Sunil) Narine was the turning point. We could have played spin better. We could have chosen among bowlers in a better way.”

Sunrisers were to chase 173 and Nehra thought that it was not a big target. Had Yuvraj Singh lasted a little longer he could have finished the game said, Nehra, “If Yuvi (Yuvraj) had played 10 more balls, he would have finished the game. He’s an explosive batsman everyone knows. He could have scored 30 runs from 10 balls easily. Yuvi and Ben Cutting are two important players. If one has his day we will win,” explained Nehra.

However, the veteran insisted that there is no reason to panic as a lot of matches are there to rectify the mistakes. “On this wicket, 173 was not a big target. It would have been a matter of two-three big hits. But it’s too early in the tournament so there’s nothing to panic,” Nehra was quoted saying.

Talking about Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Nehra heaped praise on the Indian bowler. He said, “Earlier people used to think he’s only a new ball bowler. Between him and Jasprit Bumrah, the two who only play ODIs, Bhuvi has been one of the best death bowlers. He will definitely improve from here onwards. He’s a very hardworking guy.”

Later on, Nehra was asked about his fitness and how has he managed to play for this long. The veteran fast bowler was adamant to answer the question and came out as humble as he can be. He said that his career was bogged down by injuries but he never backed down and worked hard and if he can do it anyone can.

He said, “If I can do fast bowling at 38 despite having 11-12 surgeries, then I’m sure anyone can do this. It’s no rocket science or magic. You have to push yourself and show determination.

“Especially in this format when you travel every day and play matches. At my age, I’ve to spent extra time in gym or pool for extra two-three hours for recovery. If you can manage to do all that, then you can also do,” added Nehra.

When asked what keeps him motivated Nehra said that it is the love for the game and his passion for representing his country keeps him going. He said, “I don’t think that I can have a better motivation than playing for India. We are playing for India so that thing is motivating me. I missed so much of cricket in the past because of injuries, I will try to play as long as I can.”