Ashish Nehra, who has played under a total of six captains for the Indian team since he made his international debut, is prepared to say goodbye to the game.
No Tech for Nehra
In today’s rather showy world, with all aspects of everyday life making an appearance onto social media platforms of some kind, Nehra has the distinction of having not one such account. That’s right folks, the player has no Instagram, no Twitter, and no Facebook. While this may be unfathomable to most, until just a few months ago Nehra was using a Nokia E51 and was blithely ignoring all mobile tech trends! His wife gave him an iPhone 7, but, despite the extravagant extras this handset provides, Nehra Ji, as he is fondly nicknamed only uses Whatsapp on it, and this skill was only learned this year!
Nehra is a Gentleman from the Old School
There is no doubt that Nehra is from the ld-school, and seems to come from a different era. He has managed to make it in this one, with several shows of true class. When his childhood coach Tarak Sinha was evicted from his government housing and had only one week to find accommodation for himself and his family, Nehra did not simply arrange shelter for his ex-trainer, he bought him an apartment!
His Coach Believed in Him from the Start
Nehra was eventually participating in local tournaments in Delhi, and seeing quite a bit of success. Once Sinha felt that he was ready to move up, Sinha approached Delhi selectors and asked them to give his player a look. Sinha said that he told the selectors that if they liked Nehra they should promote him, giving him a chance, and if they did not then to please tell him what was missing so that those areas could be improved. Sinha said that Hari Gidwani was a selector in those days and was impressed, feeling that Nehra had talent, and that Gidwani informed Sinha that he would try to get the player into the Ranji Trophy for Delhi.
A Brilliant Career Ensued
As punters who make use of the online betting NZ has to offer will be able to attest, 235 international scalps, 18 years, and 12 surgeries later, Nehru has come to the end of his road with cricket. His decision came after Delhi got slotted to host their first Twenty20 International game against the New Zealanders at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. It seems a fitting way to bid adieu, playing the way he has for most of his life, at home.
Nehra event sent a request that a corporate box be made available for his family and friends to be able to watch him play what will be his last game. The fact that his decision to retire from the game at home, before the squad for the series has been announced, raised questions of how a player could decide that he would be selected for a squad on his own, especially since he did not make the playing XI for the Twenty20 International series against the Australians before this series. Yet he did end up being named, and it turned out that whether or not Nehra would make the XI players, the Kotla was prepared to bid one of its most beloved sons a fitting farewell.