The 3 phases of Ashish Nehra's memorable career

When he first came onto the scene in the late 90s, Ashish Nehra was a bustling left-arm seamer who could hit the deck hard and move the ball both ways. Over the years, he has learned to adapt his game to the prevailing circumstances even as he battled valiantly against recurring injuries.

Pulling the curtains down on what has been an eventful career, the fast bowler bid adieu to the game following the conclusion of the first T20I between India and New Zealand in Delhi. Let us take a look at the three different phases of Nehra's career and how his versatility helped him impart various roles in the Indian team across multiple formats.

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#1 1999-2005: The Early Years

Ashish Nehra made his debut in international cricket during a Test match against Sri Lanka under Mohammad Azharuddin's captaincy in 1999. Almost 20 at that point in time, his first Test wicket was the big scalp of the exalted Marvan Atapattu. With just one wicket to his name in 28 overs, he was dropped from the national side following the drawn encounter in Colombo.

Two years later, he was selected for India's tour of Zimbabwe in 2001. The talented fast bowler made his ODI debut and slowly became a regular in the format. Along with Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath, he helped form a reasonable pace attack for India across different conditions.

With skipper Sourav Ganguly placing faith on his ability, Nehra grew leaps and bounds to become one of the best death bowlers in the team. Following Srinath's retirement in the aftermath of the 2003 World Cup, Nehra and Zaheer formed a memorable pace partnership for India in the subsequent years.

Nehra gave the most distinguished performance of his career in the memorable group match against England in the 2003 World Cup. His spell of 6 wickets for just 23 runs propelled India to a comfortable victory. Another of his many game-changing efforts came against Pakistan at Karachi in 2004. He defended just 9 runs from the last over to deliver a thrilling triumph for India.

Of the 72 ODIs Nehra played during this phase, India won 40 of those and he picked up 57 wickets.

Stats of Ashish Nehra from 1999-2005

Stats of Ashish Nehra in matches won from 1999-2005

#2 2009-2011: The Second Coming

Nehra played a vital role in India's semi-final win over Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup

Out of the national side due to injuries and loss of form in 2005, Nehra spent a few years in the wilderness. A bowel injury kept him out of cricket for the whole of 2006. The world had no whereabouts of Ashish Nehra until he made an impressive comeback in the first season of IPL in 2008. He was among the top 10 Indian wicket-takers during the inaugural edition of the tournament.

He continued to play regular domestic cricket for Delhi. A telling reminder of his prowess was sent across selection doors when he finished as the 3rd highest wicket-taker in the 2009 edition of IPL. A national comeback beckoned as a just reward for his efforts.

The period between 2009 and 2011 can be termed as Nehra's golden years in international cricket. He was a regular in the ODI team and formed the backbone of Indian fast bowling attack along with Zaheer Khan. The two senior pacers were also capable mentors to the youngsters coming up in the Indian setup.

Nehra was among the top three wicket-takers in ODIs played during that period. He was also at the peak of his fitness. Not surprisingly, skipper MS Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten asked him if he would like to make a comeback in the Test arena as well. However, the left-armer was unsure on whether his body would hold up to the rigours of Test cricket.

A sustained concentration on limited-overs cricket helped Nehra improve markedly on his death-bowling skills. In the unforgettable high-scoring thriller at Rajkot in 2009, Sri Lanka came astonishingly close to India's massive total of 414. Defending just 68 runs required off the last nine overs, Nehra and Zaheer came up with a death-bowling master class.

Nehra once again came to India's rescue during the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup. From ten overs, he conceded just 33 runs and picked up 2 wickets to end up with the best figures among all Indian bowlers in that match. He was a certainty for the final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai. However, a finger injury ruled him out of contention. The semi-final against Pakistan would remain his final ODI appearance.

Stats of Ashish Nehra from 2009-11

Stats of Ashish Nehra in matches won from 2009-11

#3 2016-2017: The Final Hurrah

Nehra had a grand retirement at his home ground against New Zealand

In the aftermath of India's successful campaign in the 2011 World Cup, Nehra was continuously ignored by the selectors. Even though he was playing well in the domestic circuit and the IPL, the left-armer never came close to gaining a national comeback for a lengthy span of time.

With Zaheer Khan approaching the final phase of his illustrious career, the Indian selectors looked to rebuild the pace attack with an eye on the future. The likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar gradually began to establish themselves in the lineup.

But Nehra was not done yet. A brilliant IPL season for Chennai Super Kings in 2015 earned him a national recall. He channelled all his energy towards T20 cricket and soon became the lynchpin of India's bowling attack in the shortest format of the game. He was an integral part of the Indian T20I side which won the Asia Cup and reached the semi-finals of the World T20 in 2016.

Although he expressed his desire to play in the 2017 Champions Trophy, a hamstring injury put paid to his chances of an ODI recall. Much like in the preceding years, the seasoned campaigner returned to full fitness and made a comeback in the T20I squad for the 3-match home series against Australia.

With Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah leading the bowling attack, Nehra was no longer a certainty in the XI even as Hardik Pandya's presence allowed captain Virat Kohli to field two specialist spinners. He soon announced his retirement from all forms of cricket with the 1st T20I against New Zealand at his home venue in Delhi.

An emotional Nehra played his last cricket match in front of a packed crowd at the iconic Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. Even though he could not feature among the wickets column, the 38-year old walked away with contentment as India cruised to an emphatic win over New Zealand. After all, Ashish Nehra became only the second bowler after James Anderson to bowl from his own end in recent times.

Stats of Ashish Nehra from 2016-17