Nehra quietly optimistic ahead of West Indian tour

The West Indies has traditionally been regarded as the cradle of fearsome fast bowling, and each of the four speedsters picked by the Indian selectors for the upcoming tour will be relishing his prospects of bowling there. Particularly active in licking his lips will be Ashish Nehra, one of two left-arm seamers in the squad.

Coming back into the side after an injury, Nehra will be looking to establish himself as the premier exponent of swing bowling in the country. A few days before the squad's departure, Nehra spent an hour chatting with fans on CricInfo, fielding their questions about his career, plans and thoughts.

"Our Test side has been performing quite well in the recent past," said Nehra about the current crop of Test cricketers. "During the Zimbabwe and England tours, the team played quite well."

This observation naturally prompted a query on India's poor record in series away from home. Nehra answered the question diplomatically. "Overseas our players have performed well, but at times have lost by a close margin," he said. "But we are in high spirits and give in our best at all times."

Nehra took some questions on his teammates for the upcoming tour as well. "Everyone knows his potential, and we hope that he does well," he said of VVS Laxman. He also had words of praise for Dinesh Mongia. "He is a very promising cricketer and is currently in a very good knick."

Virender Sehwag, sidelined with a shoulder injury sustained during the India-Zimbabwe one-day series, is Nehra's teammate and close friend at ONGC, and the lanky fast-bowler was quite sure they would miss him. "Sehwag has been ruled out of selection because he has not fully recovered from his injury. He is a great player, and I hope that he is back in the side for the one-dayers."

Questioned about his compatriots in the bowling department, Nehra delivered fulsome praise. "It is good to see Anil Kumble back in the side. He is one of the best spinners in the world," he said. Shifting his focus for a moment to the one-day arena, Nehra added, "I think Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar are two of the best bowlers in the slog overs. Javagal Srinath is also very experienced."

The tour of the West Indies is one of India's best chances to win a series abroad, coming as it does against a weak opposition and at a time when almost all of India's stars are fit. Nehra recognised this and said, "I think we should do well in this series. We have a good side." He was certainly unequivocal about his own role in the mission. "I will give my best to do well in the West Indies. It feels great to play for my country again, and I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations."