Delhi all set to bid goodbye to its famous bowler son

Indian quick bowler Ashish Nehra is all set to bid good bye to international cricket. The 38-year-old Delhi southpaw will feature in his last international game on Wednesday during India’s T20 encounter with New Zealand, the first in the three-game series.

The conclusion of Nehra’s 18-year old association with international cricket couldn’t have come at a better venue. The T20 match will be hosted at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi, which is the home ground of the southpaw. Nehra reportedly requested to be included in the team squad for this game, besides having asked to reserve a whole box for his friends and relatives. A signboard on the ground also reads, ‘Farewell Ashish Nehra’.

Nehra came to international prominence with his memorable performance of 6/23 against England at Durban in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. While he exhibited early signs of a left-arm seamer great in the making, the talented fast bowler has been held back by injuries that have plagued him throughout his international career.

While Nehra’s deftness with the cricket bowl in shorter formats of the game is acknowledged globally, his name, over time, has also become synonymous with injuries. The fast bowler has gone under the knife on at least a dozen occasions during his career, a fact that has eventually come to affect his consistency.

Besides his head-turning performance in Durban, Nehra also featured in the World Cup winning team that got back India cricket’s most prestigious title after a gap of 28 years. His spell of 2/33 versus Pakistan in the semi-finals was instrumental in guiding India through to the finals.

However, as has been the irritating highlight of his cricketing career, Nehra missed the finals against Sri Lanka due to a finger injury.

Nehra could never really make a comeback after 2011, and mostly found himself out of the squad, except making brief comebacks every now and then.

However, he refuses to ponder on his injuries now.

"Trust me, I have had an eventful 20 years. I am not a very emotional person. The next 20 years is what I am looking forward to. Hopefully, it will be as eventful as it has been since I started playing for Delhi in 1997," Nehra recently said during an interview to PTI.

It is not certain that Nehra would get a chance to feature in the playing XI for Wednesday’s game, with Bhuvneshwar Kuman and Jasprit Bumrah doing a good job with the new ball.

However, Delhiites may want to turn out in large numbers to see one of their famous sons for the one last time on a cricketing field.