By the time Ashish Nehra retired from international cricket in 2017, he has created a persona of him being one of the most fun-loving cricketers going around. But that was not always the case with Nehra.
Speaking on Aakash Chopra’s show Aakashvani, the former pacer on Tuesday (May 5) opened up about his quiet demeanour when he first walked into the Indian dressing room filled with superstars.
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Nehra made India debut in 1999 in a Test match against Sri Lanka at Colombo.
Recalling the match, he said: “I held a Kookaburra ball for the first time in my hand. Just imagine how times have changed. I am talking about 21 years ago when I had just two net sessions with a Kookaburra ball and went in to play my debut Test.”
The left-armer went on to add that he only knew Harbhajan Singh when he was picked for the national side.
“I first reached Chennai from Delhi and from there we left for Sri Lanka. At Chennai when they gave me the key to my room I asked them which one is Harbhajan Singh’s room because he is the only one I knew and with whom I could speak. It was very quiet at the hotel. Even during practice I sat next to Harbhajan.”
Nehra, who represented India in 17 Tests, 120 ODIs and 27 T20Is, also shared his feeling of sharing the dressing room with legends such as Mohammed Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar.
“It was a good experience but it was very quiet. I spent the first few minutes just looking at Mohammed Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar. Till then I had only seen them on television. There was no IPL in those days....these days players have a lot of exposure which is a good thing. When I made my debut, most of the people in the team had not even seen me bowl as domestic matches were not televised. It was a quiet debut but Harbhajan and I would enjoy whenever we would get a chance,” he recounted.
While Ashish Nehra claimed 44 wickets in his brief Test career, he managed to pick up 157 and 34 scalps in ODIs and T20Is respectively. He was also part of India’s triumphant World Cup 2011 campaign.
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
