I wanted to retire in front of my home crowd: Ashish Nehra

The veteran Indian pacer Ashish Nehra has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket officially on Thursday (October 12). The news of him hanging his boots was doing the rounds after not being picked for the first two T20Is. But he cleared the air by informing that the decision was his own and no one has influenced him in coming to the conclusion. However, he had informed the skipper Virat Kohli and the coach Ravi Shastri of his decision to quit.

Ashish Nehra last appeared for India in the T20Is against England in January but got injured during the Indian Premier League earlier this year. He was picked again for the T20I leg against Australia but couldn’t make it to the playing eleven. Impressive performances from Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept him on the bench. But now the veteran will definitely play the first game of the series on November 1 against New Zealand in Delhi which will also be the final game of his international career.

It was my decision

The 38-year-old also cleared that he was not forced to retire by the team management and he has taken this decision on his own. “It’s my own decision. Match on Nov 1 is in Delhi. There’s no bigger thing than to retire in your home town. When I was selected for this series, I informed Virat (Kohli) and coach (Ravi) Shastri that I think Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah are doing really well. And that this is the right time for me to go,” Nehra said speaking to the media ahead of the third T20I against the team from down under.

When the veteran was asked by one of the reporters regarding his availability in the IPL next year he said, “If I have decided something, there is no going back. If I retire, I won’t even play the IPL.” Now the news of some of the franchises wanting him as a mentor or bowling coach is already doing rounds. It will be interesting to see if he takes up any such role in the future.