Ashish Nehra Retires from International Cricket

Indian Cricket veteran Ashish Nehra has just announced his retirement from international cricket. The 38-year old was picked the T20 International against New Zealand at the Ferozshah Kotla. After an eight month gap, Nehra was included in the T20 side for the ongoing three-match series against Australia. The T20I will be Nehra’s final in Indian colours.

Nehra had a word with the captain and the team management on Wednesday afternoon. A source close to the pacer said, “He (Nehra) called the entire squad and said he is calling it quits from international cricket. That caught the entire team by surprise but he requested if he could play his last game at his home ground in Delhi”.

Some claimed that sitting out for two games could have triggered the decision, but Nehra had already planned for this. A BCCI official stated “The team was easing him into top-flight cricket. Since his injury in the last IPL, he has not played much cricket. He said he would have retired after the third match against Australia in Hyderabad. Since India play their next T20 in Delhi, Nehra prefers to play that match”.

Nehra has had an injury-plagued career which spanned 18 years. The frequent injuries forced him to retire from Test cricket 10 years ago. He has been part of two ODI World Cup campaigns – 2003 and 2011. He was ignored by the selectors despite taking 2/33 in against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup semifinal. That happens to be his last ODI since he fractured a finger in that semifinal. Ahead of the 2016 World T20 Championship in India, the Delhi pacer was recalled to add experience and variety to the attack. His performance since has been top notch.