Ashish Nehra

Profile

Ashish Nehra is one of the few Indians from the current lot to make his Test debut before his ODI debut. He burst onto the scene as a bubbly left-arm pacer who had the arsenal of pace, swing and bounce. He made his debut for India, as the new-ball partner of current Indian bowling coach, Venkatesh Prasad. He subsequently worked his way into the ODI team as well. At times when he did not take wickets, he made sure the run rate was in check. He continued in this fashion for a few years till his 6-23 versus England in the 2003 World Cup registered him in the record books for one of the best bowling figures in a World Cup. But 2004-05 was hard as Nehra struggled to maintain his length and slipped out of favour when new bowlers starting proving a stronger case for their selection. He did come up with rare gems of performances but injury cut his career short. By the time he was fully recovered his place was taken by other bowlers and for a long time, he remained a thing of the past. The Indian Premier League helped him revive his career. In the inaugural season, he represented Mumbai Indians and was one of the many failures of the team. He was wayward, had no control of his deliveries and proved exactly why there was no place for him in an upcoming Indian team. He was traded off for Shakhar Dhawan for the second season of the IPL and played for his home-team, Delhi during the second season. Nehra and Dirk Nannes formed one of the most hostile opening bowling pairs of the second IPL and he showed that his form, pace and swinging yorkers had returned. The Indian selectors did not have to look far when they had a vacant slot for the tour of West Indies. He scalped six wickets in four matches which was a good enough reason for the selectors to name in the squad for the Champions Trophy.

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Career

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