The 3 phases of Ashish Nehra's memorable career

#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