I am good enough to play for India, says Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra, who was one of the leading wicket-takers in the recently concluded Indian Premier League, expressed his sadness for not getting a chance to play for the Indian national side. Nehra has performed well at the domestic level and where he recently reached 300 wickets milestone in his first-class career.
"I don't speak to media too much, but last three-four years have been really harsh. India has tried out a lot of bowlers in T20 and one-day cricket which are the formats I was still playing and I was the highest wicket taker between 2008 and 2011 by far. In fact, I was in the top three in the whole world," Nehra was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
He added saying that he was never told about what happened to his selection. Even after performing well, he was not called up.
"Till now, I don't know what exactly happened and nobody ever told me. Whenever I played with the current lot - I am not saying they are not good, I am giving an example - be it in the Challenger Trophy or the Deodhar Trophy, I have been at par with them or better than them at times. They have tried 20 or 25 bowlers but not Ashish Nehra. I don't know where I went wrong."
Nehra claimed that he did one of the toughest jobs as a bowler to give a good start to his team in IPL. He expressed his emotion by saying that he misses the India cap every night and now that the IPL is over, I'll be forgotten.
"It is not like I am bowling the easier overs in the middle, I am still doing the toughest job and that gives me a good kick. Mohit Sharma and Ishwar Pandey are there who have played for the Indian team but at the same time I get the satisfaction of bowling the tough overs under the Indian captain.
“I still miss the India cap when I go to sleep. People were saying I will go to the World Cup after the Champions League, but I was not even in the 30 probables. Even after the IPL, in ten days people will forget me."
The 36-year-old pacer picked 22 wickets in 16 matches he played in the IPL 2015 and also earned the best bowling figures of the tournament of 4 wickets by giving just 10 runs. He is hopeful for a comeback now after a promising IPL.
"I have always felt that I am good enough to play for India, I still am good enough. It is a thought process, not because Harbhajan is back that I should be picked. I believe that whoever performs should be picked. It is not about the age.
“If I am doing well at 36 and the other guy is 26 and as good as me, you should go with him. You should not pick someone just because he is 20; not just with me but with everybody."