Former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra is regarded as one of the best bowlers the country has ever made. He was born in Delhi on April 29, 1979. He bats right-handed and bowls left-arm medium-fast. He was a member of the Indian cricket team that won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.
Background
He climbed through the ranks due to his successes in domestic cricket. He is a former member of the Delhi Ranji team. He used to train at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. His and Virender Sehwag’s travels to and from practise are legendary.
Debut
On February 24, 1999, he made his international debut against Sri Lanka in a Test match. In his only inning, he selected 1/94. He took Marvan Atapattu’s wicket. Because of the storm, the match ended in a stalemate.
In 2001, he made his One-Day International debut against Zimbabwe. At Harare, he took 2/33 as India cruised to a 9-wicket victory. Alistair Campbell was his first ODI wicket.
Rise to glory
From the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, he rose to prominence. In the game, he bowled some mesmerising spells. In ODIs versus England, he had his best bowling figures. He swung the ball both directions and took 6/23.
It was made much better by the fact that he had just returned from an ankle injury. This match remains a career highlight for him. He bowled some more incredible seam and swing spells and was one of India’s greatest pace bowlers ever. When it came to Indian fast bowlers, he was at the top of the heap.
Club career
Throughout his career, he represented five separate Indian Premier League franchises. He began his career with the Mumbai Indians in 2008, but spent the next two years with the Delhi Daredevils (DD).
His inconsistent performance forced him to switch teams once more. For the next few years, he played for the now-defunct Pune Warriors India. After that, he returned to his former franchisee, DD, for a year.
He played for the Chennai Super Kings in 2014 and 2015. They were barred from the IPL for the next two years, which forced him to move to Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he played in 2016 and 2017.
Records
Nehra has the fourth-longest record of any Indian cricketer (18 years 250 days). In the ODI World Cup, he has the best bowling figures for an Indian (6/23 against England in 2003) and is the only Indian bowler to take six wickets in an ODI innings twice (against England and Sri Lanka).
He has 44 wickets at an average of 42.4 in 17 Test matches, with his highest bowling figures in an innings being 4/72. In ODIs, he has a stronger record, with 157 wickets in 120 games. His highest score is a 6/23.
He also took 34 wickets at an average of 22.29 and an economy rate of 7.73 in 27 T20Is.
Retirement
On November 1, 2017, Ashish Nehra announced his retirement from international cricket. Following his retirement, he pursued a career in commentary and is now a member of the Star Sports commentary unit.
For the upcoming season of the IPL, he has joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore as their bowling coach.