Harbhajan Singh compares Ashish Nehra to Virat Kohli

02/04/2017

Harbhajan Singh has paid homage to Ashish Nehra's ability to read a batsman's mind by comparing it to Virat Kohli's abilities to do the same against bowlers.Nehra's former teammate Vijay Dahiya also praised the Indian pacer for understanding his limits and choosing T20 over more Tests.

Every time critics have written him off, Ashish Nehra has made a comeback. Known for having a short shelf life, there's hardly anyone who has kept going the way Nehra has even at the astonishing age of 38. The biggest skill that he owns is the rare capability to implement exactly what he is thinking. The fiery bowler has seen his role change over time and now apart from his own bowling he is responsible for mentoring the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.

"His skill level is in a different league. Like Virat Kohli can gauge what a bowler will bowl and exactly what shot he will hit, Ashish exactly knows what a batsman can hit if he bowls a particular delivery and sets the field accordingly. I know the amount of pain he has gone through but what helped him is knowing his body," Harbhajan told PTI.

Asked about why he thinks Nehra can still bowl at 140 kmph, Harbhajan explained, " That's because of his bone structure. He looks lean but has a high bone density. If he sits on you, you would suddenly feel, 'Gosh this guy is heavy'. But he doesn't look like a big bodied beefed up guy. Also, he runs a lot. He is still one of the best runners in this Indian team. After so many injuries, he has worked a lot on his lower body. He bowls fast because of a good lower body and synchronisation in his run-up."

Harbhajan feels that Zaheer Khan, one of India's greatest fast bowlers who also had a career hampered by injuries, also had great skill, but had to slow down his pace to meet the demands of his body. "Zak also had a lot of variations but since he was playing Test cricket, the endurance level required him to assess his body differently. When I think about Ashu, I feel what a great Test bowler he could have been had his body permitted," Harbhajan stated.

Another one of his teammates and coach at Delhi, Vijay Dahiya added that the injuries have acted as a boon for Nehra, forcing him to play less cricket and this inturn has helped him prolong his career. "Ashish has had his share of injuries and that I believe it has been a key to fast bowling. Unlike other bowlers, he has been forced to play less cricket and that has kept him fresh. Also he is a practical man. He knew that he will not play Test matches due to his body, so he did not play Ranji Trophy and concentrated on limited-overs matches and got the best out of him."

"If Ashish has Champions Trophy in mind, then he will certainly play Vijay Hazare Trophy. How do you use him if his body permits? A spell of 6 overs at the beginning and 4 overs in the final 10 where he is still the best Indian bowler around. Now if his body responds, he will certainly be handy in English conditions."

Former Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun offered some insight into how Nehra has managed to adapt to T20 cricket. "He can bowl two bouncers which are completely different from each other. He bowls a steady yorker and a fantastic good length delivery which rears up. The T20 format suits him perfectly as he can bowl flat out. The best part is that he was never a 125 kmph bowler. He is always a 135 kmph bowler. That's because in T20, you need to bowl 24 deliveries and that gives him license to go flat out," Arun explained.

Another former Delhi coach and national selector, Madan Lal, added that there is a difference between fitness issues and injury and it was the latter that kept Nehra out of the team. "Let me tell you, Ashish has never been dropped because of poor form or fitness issues. He always got injured, an unavoidable part of sport. As Delhi coach or even as national selector, we never ever discussed or debated his qualities as everyone knew what he is capable of. His skills and his ability to guide youngsters like Jasprit Bumrah makes him an asset even now," said the former World Cup winner.

Harbhajan Singh compares Ashish Nehra to Virat Kohli

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