'These days some batsmen are playing yorkers better than length balls'
Ashish Nehra talks about his go-to deliveries, dealing with frustrating injuries, and how he keeps social media at arm's length
Ashish Nehra: "Because of the injuries I have missed so much cricket. I feel like I have not had enough of it" • AFP/Getty Images
That was 20 years ago and both our scooters are long gone. Good old days.
Not breakfast - it was milk. I was not a morning person at that point. Viru would come to my house early and wake me up. When I was 17-18 years old, I didn't like milk, but Viru was a big fan of it. My parents would offer him milk. And he would have my glass, too. By the time we reached Feroz Shah Kotla, Viru would have had one litre of milk. I would have the fried breakfast served at the ground.
We had a deal: Viru would drive on the way to the ground, while I would drive it on the return journey. As a bowler, I had a small bag, but his kit bag was big. So I would rest my head on that and nap while he was driving.
Honestly, I am not aware. I hear it from other people and I just have a laugh. I know that he is going strong on social media and Hindi commentary. But I am not on any social media. Forget tweets, I don't even send emails. When chartered accountants and lawyers are home, I am not in that room. I ask my wife to deal with them.
If I am doing well, I am the same guy; if I am not doing well, I am the same guy. Definitely, when you are not doing well, you do think about your game and what is going wrong, and then you think, "What can I do better?"
"I can never be a fielder like Jadeja or Kohli, but I have told myself I should be a safe fielder. It should not be like, if a ball is hit towards me, I drop the catch, allow the batsmen to take two runs, or let the ball go through my legs every time"
You can tell me better. It depends on the situation in the match. You do feel emotional when you lose close games which you wanted to win but things did not go your way. But I don't let that affect me completely. I have always been a firm believer that when you are down and out, it is more fun to come back on top. That is the time you have to show character. It is only you who can bounce back, so you should know how to do that.
Sometimes, if a catch is dropped and then the same batsman hits you for three or four sixes after that, you get angry. Then there are times where I might have dropped a catch or misfielded, and the bowler, even if he is really junior to me, might get upset at me. But that feeling lasts just for a moment or two.
Firstly, in India it is very difficult to change your reputation. But I would say that I have been much better as a fielder since 2011, as compared to what I was, say, in my first decade in international cricket. I now put so much more effort. I can never be a fielder like Ravindra Jadeja or Ajinkya Rahane or Virat Kohli, but I have told myself I should be a safe fielder. It should not be like if a ball is hit towards me that I drop the catch, allow the batsmen to take two runs, or let the ball go through my legs every time. That perception has to change. I did not give importance to fielding in my early years in cricket, but in the last five to six years I have worked hard on it.
Most of the time, I am either at short fine leg or short third man, especially when the spinners are bowling. The reason is not because Ashish Nehra is a bad fielder. Also, I am not the only one standing in such positions. There have to be four fielders at all times inside the circle. Your best fielders will ideally be outside, especially at hot spots like long-off, long-on and deep midwicket during slog overs of an ODI or in a T20 match.
Definitely. Recently some of the young players told me I am an inspiration to them. If I can inspire anybody, I am the happiest person. I have had ten to 12 surgeries, have had a history of injuries, and I am a fast bowler. The captain gives me the ball in the first six and also at the death. At times, in the Powerplay, I have bowled three overs when there are only two fielders outside the circle. So I am proud that at 37 I am still good enough. I was never a 125kph bowler. I have always bowled at 138-140kph.
To keep going, I have to give about five hours a day to my cricket. Then let it be in training, running, fielding, doing workouts given by the physio or getting a massage. Because of the injuries, I have missed so much cricket; I feel like I have not had enough of it.
In the 2002 Champions Trophy, I remember trying to run out one of Jacques Kallis or Herschelle Gibbs while collecting a throw, and instead of breaking the stumps with the ball, I smashed my fingers straight into the stumps and ended up with a split webbing.
Any injury.
"If I am doing well, I am the same guy; if I am not doing well, I am the same guy"
In North India, during my youth, the culture was: fitness means running - whether it was rainy season or winter, you would just wear your shoes and you were on the road. I remember coaches telling young players during trials, "Go run 10, 20 rounds of the Kotla." So, till about a year ago, I used to do long-distance running. I would otherwise run at least for 45 minutes to an hour, about 12-15km even after bowling in the nets.
It is not easy. But recently I made a comeback after a seven- or eight-month layoff. I had a massive knee and hamstring surgery during the last IPL before returning last month for the England T20 series. I just played one practice match at the Brabourne stadium against England in the match where MS Dhoni led the Indians for the last time.
Overall, I am not sure, but I remember once ABD [AB de Villiers] taking 22 or 23 off the final over of the innings against Pune Warriors [in the 2012 IPL]. I know that every second day there is an over like that, but I still remember that over. RCB needed 21 off the last over. ABD just kept hitting. [De Villiers hit 18 and Saurabh Tiwary hit seven, including a last-ball six.]
It depends on the situation of the match, and the batsman. In the above match, in Bangalore, I remember trying to bowl yorkers twice. Both turned out to be low full tosses. One, he did not even connect properly and the ball just floated over the ropes for six. So it is very easy to say, "I bowl a good yorker when I am under pressure." But these days some batsmen are playing a yorker better than a length ball.
I really enjoyed Chaminda Vaas. He is a very low-profile guy, but if you see his record and the kind of hot conditions and pitches he played on, in a country where they were made for [Muttiah] Muralitharan, [Kumar] Dharmasena or any spinners, look what he did. He got 400 ODI wickets.
There is not just one. Also, so many times it happens that I will call and talk rather than text. Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman are some of the players I am frequently in touch with.
I don't think I will end up writing a book.
I have normal-size feet, so I don't have an issue. Also, these days, shoe manufacturers can make a customised pair in no time. That is so different from my debut Test match - 1999, in Sri Lanka. I remember I had just one pair of Reebok shoes. Luckily there was this cobbler at the SSC in Colombo, so at the end of the day I would give the shoes to him after every second session and he would stitch it. I could not tell him that was the only pair I had! I still recollect in the final few overs I bowled, the nails had started to come out. That was the last time I played in them.
I don't think fans like me much.
Nagraj Gollapudi is a senior assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo