Ashish Nehra eyeing comeback against England after recovering from hamstring injury
Veteran left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra, who had been sidelined due to injury since March, is set to make a comeback to the Team India fold, and might be one of the surprise choices in their limited overs squad against England early next year.
The 37-year old, who was part of the Asia Cup and World T20 sides, last played an ODI for India in March 2011 against Pakistan in the semi-finals of the World Cup. Having injured his thumb during that match, he couldn’t force his way back into the side and was left in the lurch for five years.
His sensational comeback to the Indian team earlier this year was cut short when he got ruled out of the Indian Premier League midway because of hamstring issues. He played eight matches for the franchise, picking up nine wickets, before he was sidelined for the rest of the year. Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to win their maiden title.
Now having recuperated from the injury under the tutelage of Tarak Sinha, his coach, he is set to be part of the two warm-up matches against England, scheduled to be held early next year.
Nehra last played featured in an Indian jersey during their semi-final loss against the West Indies at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. He put in a strong performance, giving away just 24 runs and picking up the wicket of Marlon Samuels in his allotted quota of four overs.
The Indian team is scheduled to play two practice games against England, before the three-match ODI series that is set to begin on 15th January at Pune. After the ODI series, the two teams will lock horns in three T20I fixtures as well.
Having made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 1999, Nehra could add just sixteen more caps to his career in the longest format but went on to play 120 ODIs for the Indian team from 2001 to 2011. In his last ODI for the Indian team, he picked up two wickets for 33 runs, before hurting his hand while attempting a catch, an injury that ruled him out of the final against Sri Lanka, which India eventually won. He has been part of 23 T20Is for India, picking up 31 wickets, with a match-best of 3-19.
The England team is currently on a twenty-five-day break after having endured a humiliating 4-0 loss in the five-Test series against India. After the first Test at Rajkot ended in a draw, the tourists suffered four consecutive defeats, the final one being an innings defeat at Chennai.
Also read: Axar Patel to miss ODI series due to thumb injury.