Nehra wasn't sure if he could make it to the World Cup 2011 because of injuries.
Fast bowler Ashish Nehra, who was part of India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad, wasn't ready to play the tournament because of injuries. But MS Dhoni, the then India captain, convinced him to be a part of the squad.
Nehra was suffering because of a bad back and he wanted to get replaced ahead of the tournament. But Dhoni suggested him to be patient and eventually, everything worked out well.
“Before the World Cup, I was struggling with a stiff back so much that at one point of time I thought I won’t play, I’ll leave,” Nehra said on Wisden’s Greatest Rivalry Podcast.
“I still remember Praveen Kumar or one other fast bowler got injured and Sreesanth was his replacement. I told MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar that I don’t think I’ll play the World Cup before I was really struggling and it’s better to get a replacement.
“And Dhoni tells me ‘listen, just hang in there for another two-three weeks. See how you feel. Be with the physio, sort it out with him, wait for two-three weeks and then we’ll see how it goes.”
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Nehra was part of only three matches for India in the World Cup, and one out of those was the semifinal against Pakistan where he picked 2/33.
“Then I started playing one game at a time. I played against Holland, had a bad game against South Africa, and then missed one. The semifinal comes. I play, we win, I had a good game but again missed the final,” Nehra said.
“I had a massive fracture. The day after the final itself, I left for Australia for surgery. It was very disappointing but it was satisfying as well that we won the final, we won the World Cup. It was a roller-coaster ride for me but in the end, I did manage to land safely.”
Nehra didn't feature for the Indian cricket team in ODIs after semifinal against Pakistan. He did manage to make a comeback in T20Is and played the 2016 T20 World Cup under Dhoni.
(Quotes from Wisden’s Greatest Rivalry Podcast )