Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra Biography

Ashish Nehra is a former Indian cricketer, and one of the best bowlers the country has ever produced. He was born on 29 April 1979 in Delhi. He is a left-arm medium-fast bowler and bats right handed. He was a part of the Indian team that won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Background

He came up through the ranks through his performances in domestic cricket. He has played for the Delhi Ranji team. He used to practice at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. Tales about him and Virender Sehwag going to and coming from practice are famous.

Debut

He made his international debut in a Test match against Sri Lanka on 24 February 1999. He picked 1/94 in his only innings. He took the wicket of Marvan Atapattu. The match ended in a draw as most of it was affected by rain.

He later made his ODI debut in 2001 against Zimbabwe. He picked 2/33 at Harare as India won the match comfortably by 9 wickets. His first ODI wicket was Alistair Campbell.

Rise to glory

His rise to prominence began from the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. He bowled some mesmerising spells in the tournament. He picked up his best bowling figures in ODIs against England. He took 6/23 and swung the ball both ways.

The fact that he had just recovered from an ankle injury made it even better. This match remains a highlight of his career. He bowled some more amazing spells of seam and swing bowling and was one of the best pacers India has ever had. He was in the top drawer when it comes to Indian fast bowlers.

Low points

Rather than bad performances, it was his constant injuries that led to his downfall. He did not play a lot of matches after the 2003 World Cup and was in and out of the team. Even after playing for about 18 years, he only played 164 matches for India.

Club career

He represented five different Indian Premier League franchisees throughout his career. In 2008, he played for the Mumbai Indians, but moved to the Delhi Daredevils (DD) for the next two years.

His poor form made him change his team again. He played for the now defunct Pune Warriors India for the next couple of years. Then he again went back to his previous franchisee DD for a year.

In 2014 and 2015, he was a part of the Chennai Super Kings. They were banned from the IPL for the next two years, making him shift to Sunrisers Hyderabad and played for them in 2016 and 2017.

Records

Nehra’s career is the fourth longest for any Indian cricketer (18 years 250 days). He has the best bowling figures for an Indian in ODI World Cup (6/23 against England in 2003) and is the only Indian bowler to take six wickets in an ODI innings twice (against England and Sri Lanka).

In 17 Test matches, he has 44 wickets at an average of 42.4, with 4/72 being his best bowling figures in an innings. He has performed better in ODIs by taking 157 wickets in 120 matches. His best is 6/23.

He also played 27 T20Is and has taken 34 wickets at an average of 22.29 and an economy rate of 7.73.

Retirement

Ashish Nehra retired from international cricket on 01 November 2017. Post retirement, he has taken up commentary and currently is one of the members of the Star Sports commentary team.

He joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL as their bowling coach for the upcoming season of the league.