I prefer playing Mario and Contra: Ashish Nehra

Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra, who recently retired from international cricket has revealed that Indian skipper Virat Kohli calls the shots even off the field. The 38-year-old also said that it wasn’t easy to gel up with the younger guys in the team, as their taste in music and video games were different, but he added that he never judged them on that basis.

Nehra recalled one of the funny incidents when Kohli was playing FIFA (football video game) with his teammates, and he called ‘Ashu bhai’ to join them. The pacer was quick to decline the offer as he said that all he played was Mario and Contra.

It is a known fact that Kohli spends a lot of time playing video games and often the Indian cricketers can be seen playing numerous video games during their off time. “He [Kohli ] plays FIFA with everyone in the team. He told me ‘Ashu Bhai, come and play with us’. I replied ‘I don’t know how to play these things, I only know how to play Mario and Contra’,” Nehra told “Sports Tak” YouTube channel.

He added: “I used to play video games whenever I got time 10-15 years ago. I used to play only Mario and Contra.

When asked about who bosses around the off-field debates, Nehra said “Not just on the field, Virat Kohli is the leader of all these things off the field.”

Nehra keeps his choices open

Now that he has retired, many have asked the pacer if he would join the social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. “I always think ‘Never say never’. It might happen that I will be on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the future. But for now, I don’t have any plan to join them,” Nehra said.

“Everyone has their own way to relax. When I started playing these things [social media] were not there. For that matter, when I started playing, there was no Twenty20 cricket as well. It came only 10 years later,” he added.

Regarding his lack of interest in internet related activities, Nehra even went on to say that he doesn’t even know how to operate emails. “To be very honest. I don’t know how to even send and receive e-mails. My wife has my e-mail address’ credentials. She handles all the mails, even the ones related to the BCCI and Indian Premier League. I don’t have an active data plan in my phone as well. But, I use Wi-Fi at hotels, but not a big fan of it still.