Nehra: I wish I’d said yes to a Test return

Cricket365
April 26, 2016

Veteran India fast bowler Ashish Nehra said he was asked to return to the Test fold in 2009 but declined, and now wishes he had taken the coach and captain up on their offer at the time.

Nehra is nearly 37 now, and still playing T20 cricket for India and in the IPL, and says he regrets turning MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten down when they asked about his Test ambitions six years ago.

Nehra, who has 17 Test caps, was quoted as saying on NDTV: "In 2009, Dhoni and the then coach Gary Kirsten had asked me if I would like to make a Test comeback.

"I was around 30-31 then and should have responded positively but I was not very sure. When I look back, only two years back, at the age of 35, I had played six four-day matches in six weeks.

"So when I look back, I feel I should have played more than 17 Test matches."

Nehra may still be playing T20s for India, but has not played an ODI since the 2011 World Cup when he got injured. He says he's been perfectly able to play since then, drawing a distinction between injured and fit.

He added: "I sustained four fractures in my hand while fielding during the semi-final match against Pakistan.

"But one needs to understand that being injured does not mean you are unfit. Injury is getting hit, sustaining fractures but fitness is a different aspect.

"In these four years, I may not have played international cricket but I was playing domestic cricket during that phase."