Ashish Nehra affirms performances in the IPL bolstered national selection

India’s T20 specialist Ashish Nehra believes that his call-up into the national side might have been as a result of impressive performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Nehra went on to reveal that he felt embarrassed when people started congratulating him when the news of his selection started doing rounds in social media.

The last time Nehra featured in the Indian blues was back in the England series in January. Nehra, 38, finds the shortest format of the game most suitable for his injury-prone body which has undergone as many as 12 surgeries. That said, he had a highly impressive 2017 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad which may have forced the selectors to recommend the name of the old warhorse.

Nehra backs Bumrah into the Test side

“I performed well in the last IPL so I think the selectors must have seen that. I don’t feel I will be out of sorts against Australia. They inquired whether I would be able to play the Twenty20 series and I said yes. These days, I cannot play all formats, but I think I will be able to deliver in the forthcoming series,” commented Ashish Nehra according to Mid-Day.

With the amount of competition in the bowling reserves for a place in the eleven, featuring the likes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma, it is highly unlike that Nehra would be able to make the cut into the longer format of the game.

“I am taking it match-by-match, series by series. I think I will be able to bowl my quota of four overs to the best of my ability. I am fortunate to have (Jasprit) Bumrah and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) in the pace department. Bumrah is the best in limited-overs business and the way he has bowled, he can be tried in Tests too,” concluded Nehra.