Disappointed at being ignored for
five years, veteran Indian pacer Ashish Nehra said it is absolutely imperative for him to
perform well in the upcoming
Twenty20 series in Australia to have any shot at selection for the World Twenty20.
The 37-year-old last played for India in the semifinal of the victorious 2011 World Cup campaign against Pakistan. After missing the final due to a finger injury, he was overlooked for nearly five years before being recalled for the three-match T20 series against Australia starting January 26 in Adelaide.
Also Read
He made the return to the Indian team on the back of an impressive IPL season, where he finished fourth on the wicket takers list with 22 scalps from 16 games.
"If I go to Australia and play the World T20 (in India in March-April) and deliver, people will say 'Oh he should have been there earlier. If I don't people will say it was right that they didn't pick him!' That's how it works in India. Whatever is gone is gone, I am just looking forward and hopefully everything will go my way," he said.
"I have always worked hard to play international cricket. Once you have been there, you know how much pleasure you get playing for India. There were times when it was very difficult for me to motivate myself, despite not being picked, to go to the gym or ground and train. It was difficult," Nehra said.
He said he wants to double up as a mentor to India's emerging crop of fast bowlers on his return to the national side.
Nehra does not believe in the notion that only younger
players can do well in the T20 format and said that fitness, not age, matters in the shortest format of the game.
"People say T20 is a young man's game, all those theories I don't believe in. Age is just a number for me. If you can keep yourself fit, you can keep playing," he said.
"It's a fast game but I have been playing IPL, and that's a big boost. The intensity is good as international cricket."
Nehra also urged greater consistency in the selection of fast bowlers for national duty and said it was important to "look after and nurture" pacers to ensure they can have an extended stint at the international level.
"If somebody says India does not have talent, I won't agree. The only thing is you have to look after them well, nurture and support them. When Test cricket is not on and you have 3-4 bowlers who only play T20s and ODIs, you have to keep an eye on them. How to look after fast bowlers is very important, if you want them to sustain for 10-12 years and play for India. When they are young, 90% of fast bowlers don't know what to do. When they mature, sometimes it's too late.