Viru would have had one litre of milk every day before practice: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra from being made fun of for his expensive bowling to being called an inspiration; he is not only in the twilight of his career but can be termed a peak as well. He is enjoying his bowling, the attention he is getting and is a lot more realistic than a lot of cricketers. In the age driven by social media and the trends, Nehra hasn’t signed up on any of the platforms and likes it that way.

The Delhi lad shares a special relationship with his former Delhi and India teammate Virender Sehwag, the latter has missed no opportunity to make fun of the 37-year-old but Nehra loves to have a laugh at that as people tell him whatever Sehwag tweets about him. Since at one point they shared a scooter and breakfast as well.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo Nehra talked about their days as teenagers and how much Sehwag was in love with milk. “Not breakfast – it was milk. I was not a morning person at that point. Viru would come to my house early and wake me up. When I was 17-18 years old, I didn’t like milk, but Viru was a big fan of it. My parents would offer him milk. And he would have my glass, too. By the time we reached Feroz Shah Kotla, Viru would have had one litre of milk. I would have the fried breakfast served at the ground.” He said.

He is the opposite of tech savvy and completely obsolete technology-wise. “Honestly, I am not aware. I hear it from other people and I just have a laugh. I know that he is going strong on social media and Hindi commentary. But I am not on any social media. Forget tweets, I don’t even send emails. When chartered accountants and lawyers are home, I am not in that room. I ask my wife to deal with them.” Nehra added.

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Having played a lot of cricket at different levels it is seldom that we have seen him lose his cool. “Sometimes, if a catch is dropped and then the same batsman hits you for three or four sixes after that, you get angry. Then there are times where I might have dropped a catch or misfielded, and the bowler, even if he is really junior to me, might get upset at me. But that feeling lasts just for a moment or two.” He said explaining the one thing that triggers his temper.

Fast bowlers have never been good fielders and the lanky left-arm pacer right from the start of his career was termed a fielder you had to hide on the field but Nehra feels over the years he has evolved as a fielder though won’t be able to get rid of the tag.

“Firstly, in India it is very difficult to change your reputation. But I would say that I have been much better as a fielder since 2011, as compared to what I was, say, in my first decade in international cricket. I now put so much more effort. I can never be a fielder like Ravindra Jadeja or Ajinkya Rahane or Virat Kohli, but I have told myself I should be a safe fielder. It should not be like if a ball is hit towards me that I drop the catch, allow the batsmen to take two runs, or let the ball go through my legs every time. That perception has to change. I did not give importance to fielding in my early years in cricket, but in the last five to six years I have worked hard on it.”

He will turn 38 in April but still has a lot of fire in him and bowling in the 140s while many bowlers lose their pace with age but Nehra feels he was never a 125kph bowler and always had that ability to clock the ball high.
“Definitely. Recently some of the young players told me I am an inspiration to them. If I can inspire anybody, I am the happiest person. I have had ten to 12 surgeries, have had a history of injuries, and I am a fast bowler. The captain gives me the ball in the first six and also at the death. At times, in the Powerplay, I have bowled three overs when there are only two fielders outside the circle. So I am proud that at 37 I am still good enough. I was never a 125kph bowler. I have always bowled at 138-140kph.”

Having suffered so many injuries and lost years of cricket he has still been able to motivate himself to take the field and play with as much passion. Explaining what keeps him fired up Nehra said, “To keep going, I have to give about five hours a day to my cricket. Then let it be in training, running, fielding, doing workouts given by the physio or getting a massage. Because of the injuries, I have missed so much cricket; I feel like I have not had enough of it.”

The worst injury of his career was during the 2002 Champions Trophy – “In the 2002 Champions Trophy, I remember trying to run out one of Jacques Kallis or Herschelle Gibbs while collecting a throw, and instead of breaking the stumps with the ball, I smashed my fingers straight into the stumps and ended up with a split webbing.”

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“The timing of some of these injuries was what hurt me more. The finger injury in the 2011 World Cup semi-final [against Pakistan] ruled me out of the final. There was a bone graft and the bone in the middle finger was broken into seven pieces. I still have a screw and plate and I cannot bend that finger. But I did lift the World Cup in the end. I was glad that I had not left the tournament earlier. After our two practice matches before the main tournament started, my back was hurting lot and I was contemplating getting out, but I kept pushing myself and it was a great feeling to lift the Cup in the end.” He added.

While a lot of young pacers admire him growing up he enjoyed watching Sri Lankan legend Chaminda Vass bowl. “I really enjoyed Chaminda Vaas. He is a very low-profile guy, but if you see his record and the kind of hot conditions and pitches he played on, in a country where they were made for [Muttiah] Muralitharan, [Kumar] Dharmasena or any spinners, look what he did. He got 400 ODI wickets.” Ashish Nehra said.

Yuvi, Bhajji and VVS are some of the cricketers he is constantly in touch with. “There is not just one. Also, so many times it happens that I will call and talk rather than text. Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman are some of the players I am frequently in touch with.”