Ashish Nehra : Low Profile, High Performance!

[Ashok]

Highly under-rated he is. And also very low profile. No swearing at batsmen or opponents. No swaggering around on the cricket field or out of it. No fancy cars or beautiful women and certainly no fashion accessories like ear rings dangling down his face. In fact, you wouldn't have believed he was in the Indian cricket team till you had read through some recent statistics - statistics that reveal him as a vital component of India's bowling machine. And even then you will not believe that he is in there as a fast bowler.

The man in question, Ashish Nehra, the 26-year-old left-arm speedster from Delhi does not mind this lack of attention. For him, it is a boon that allows him to concentrate on his cricket and do best what he should - take wickets. This he is doing very effectively and of late, more consistently than he ever has in his six-year-old international career. And significantly, for the first time there are no question marks about his fitness. Being low profile and away from the limelight has worked to Nehra's advantage.

His 12 wickets in the just-concluded Sri Lankan tri-series (India's highest wicket-taker in the tournament) is a clear reflection of his fitness and new-found confidence. It was a new Nehra that one saw in Dumballa and Colombo as he rose to the challenges posed by the rampaging Sri Lankans and the rapidly-improving West Indians. A new-found discipline, aggression and mental toughness have transformed the struggling Nehra of yore into a potent weapon of today.

Such was Nehra's stranglehold on the batsmen that Rahul Dravid turned to him for bowling the last over against the West Indies in the crucial last league encounter when Ramdin was on the rampage. Nehra denied the West Indians the seven runs they needed for victory and India entered the final where he again proved his worth by capturing six Sri Lankan wickets. That India lost the final is not his fault; for that, the blame should fall squarely on his compatriots, both bowlers and batsmen, who have time and again inexplicably surrendered games that India should have won with ease.

The Delhi lad has been a good soldier for India, chipping in with vital wickets and timely breakthroughs ever since his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 1999 and his one-day international debut against Zimbabwe in 2001. His big moment came in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, where, against England at Kingsmead he produced one of the most devastating spells of fast bowling in recent times.

In ten electrifying overs inclusive of two maidens, he ripped through England's batting, capturing six wickets for just 23 runs. And all his six victims were heavyweights - Nasser Hussain, Alec Stewart, Michael Vaughan, Paul Collingwood, Craig White and Ronnie Irani. And astonishingly, there were no wides or no-balls during this spell. He followed this up with another spellbinding display of swing and seam bowling, this time against Sri Lanka, when he picked up four wickets for just 35 runs. With 15 World Cup wickets at an admirable average of 19.26 and an economy rate of 4.17, Nehra had announced his arrival on the big stage.

But despite this impressive performance, Nehra could not cement his place in the Indian eleven. Frequent injuries rather than poor form or selectorial quirks have hampered his career and prevented him from enjoying an extended run of games, so essential for any sportsman to showcase his talents. His Test and one-day records, therefore, do not do justice to him. He has 44 wickets from 17 Tests with a best of four for 72 at an average of 42.40 but with an enviable economy rate of 3.24. His record in limited overs cricket is much better with 86 wickets from 65 matches with his Kingsmead spell of six for 23 being his best. Here, again, his average and economy rate are a healthy 30.77 and 4.81 respectively.

To be fair to the Indian selectors, they have reposed immense confidence in the youngster which explains why after every injury-induced breakdown, they have brought him back into the team. And invariably he has performed well in his comeback matches before breaking down again. This cycle has been repeated an umpteen number of times in the new millennium, preventing Nehra from fulfilling his potential. But now under new coach Greg Chappell and physio John Gloster, Nehra appears to have put his injuries behind him once and for all.

This augurs well for Indian cricket. A match-fit Nehra will be a tremendous asset for any Indian captain. He performs best when it is required and the bigger the stage, the better his performance. His ability to swing the ball both ways as also deliver the cleverly disguised slower one ensures that he is always at the batsman's throat. As the 2003 World Cup and the just-concluded Sri Lankan tri-series show, Nehra can essay the role of both the work horse as well as the strike bowler with equal ease. To cap it all, he has improved his fielding considerably in recent times.

It is thus a new Nehra that one sees now, a Nehra who is singularly focused on his cricket and determined to succeed at any cost. This is now being reflected in his career graph which is beginning to show a distinct upward curve. Having emerged as the pivot of India's fast bowling machine, Nehra, at just 26 years of age, has several years of international cricket ahead of him. Judging by his recent performances and the kind of intensity and maturity that he has injected into his game of late, it is clear that if he continues in the same vein, he can be a permanent fixture in the Indian playing eleven right through this decade and perhaps well into the next one as well.