IPL 2016: Ashish Nehra surprised at not being picked earlier for Indian team

Ashish Nehra has been one of the most influential bowlers for the MS Dhoni-led Team India in the recent past. The 37-year-old left arm medium fast bowler from the National Capital Region (NCR) had led the Indian bowling attack successfully in the recently concluded Asia Cup and World T20 that took place in the Indian sub-continent.

Having started his international career back in 1999, Ashish Nehra has been a part of the Indian cricket team for the past 17 years. He was a part the Sourav Ganguly-led Indian side that finished runners-up in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

His sensational bowling performance against England is still quite fresh in the minds of the Indian cricket aficionados. Moreover, Ashish Nehra was also a part of the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team which had beaten Sri Lanka in the final to clinch the trophy.

Regardless of all the success that he has achieved, the 37-year-old, bridled by a host of injuries, has been one of the most irregular members of the Indian national cricket team throughout his career.

Post India’s World Cup success in 2011, Ashish Nehra had been out of the international cricket circuit for almost four years before finally making a comeback in the Indian T20 side earlier this year.

Having played a big part in the Indian Premier League for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this year, Nehra believes that the statement ‘T20 is just a game for the youngsters’ is nothing but a myth. “I believe it's all in the mind. T20 being a young man's game is a media-created perception. If we don't do well, then you will say T20 is a youngster's game. I believe performances on the field count, not a player's age,” he told Times of India (TOI).

Also, the Sunrisers bowler was a bit surprised to not find a place in the national side for a period of almost four years since 2011 despite performing well in the domestic circuit. “I am surprised I wasn't picked in the last 4-5 years,” he told TOI.

“My record from 2009 till the 2011 WC shows that I was one of the leading performers. I was injured during the 2011 WC semis and post that, I was the only bowler who didn't play for India. Even Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel got a game for the country. Why I wasn't picked for India during those years is something only the BCCI and selectors can say,” Nehra concluded.