7. Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra, popularly known as “Nehra JI” thanks to the name given by Viru has played his last international game on November 1 at his home ground- Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. The DDCA renamed both ends of the ground as “Ashish Nehra End” on the occasion of his farewell match and he received accolades from cricketing circles across the globe.
His stamp in Indian cricket will be the 6/23 against England in the 2003 World Cup. He returned with economical figures in the epic semi-final clash against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup and unfortunately missed out the final due to an injury.He played his last test in 2004 against Pakistan and could not prolong his career as he underwent surgeries and suffered many injuries through the course of his career.
However, he played a successful role in the 3-0 T20I series win against the Aussies in 2016 and mentored young bowlers like Bumrah and Hardik in the 2016 T20 WC. He has had a stint with IPL franchises such as DD, PWI, CSK and SRH and is undoubtedly an inspiration for aspiring fast bowlers for the way he crossed numerous hurdles with a hunger to serve Indian cricket.
