Not proud to have abused MS Dhoni, admits Ashish Nehra
Former India pacer Ashish Nehra, who was once caught mercilessly hurling expletives at MS Dhoni for dropping a catch, has admitted that his actions were unjustifiable and that he is not proud of them. It was then under Dhoni’s leadership that Nehra went on to lift his maiden World Cup title.
Back in 2005, when a new-to-the-scene MS Dhoni dropped a straightforward catch of the dangerous Shahid Afridi off the bowling of Ashish Nehra, the Delhi pacer lost his cool. What followed from the mouth of the left-armer was an explicit verbal attack on the wicket-keeper, an incident that has since gone viral for many reasons, none more so than Dhoni’s success at the international level. The drop eventually cost India the match as an Afridi cameo helped Pakistan chase down 316, but little would the duo have known that people would be talking about the drop in the decades to come.
15 years, Nehra recalled the infamous incident and stated that he was not proud of his behaviour. The 40-year-old further revealed that both himself and Dhoni had no hard feelings over the incident, but labelled his instinct to abuse the wicket-keeper as unjustifiable.
“I distinctly remember that match in Visakhapatnam. It was the second ODI of that series. In a video that went viral, I am seen hurling abuses at MS after an edge off Shahid Afridi's bat goes between Dhoni and Rahul Dravid at first slip. People assume it's from the Vizag match, but that incident is from the fourth ODI in Ahmedabad. However, I must admit I am not proud of my behaviour,” Nehra told TOI.
“I had been hit for six by Afridi off just the previous ball. There was the usual pressure of an India-Pakistan match. Suddenly, I created a chance and it was missed. I lost my cool. That wasn't the only incident where a player has lost his cool in that manner. Both Dravid and Dhoni were fine with me after the game but that doesn't justify my behaviour.”
Nehra, who had a decorated career for the Men in Blue, representing them in 120 ODIs whilst also winning a World Cup, jokingly admitted that viral incidents involving him - be it the Dhoni video or the Kohli picture - generally tend to blow up owing to the popularity of the other person. The left-armer further dreaded over the thought of explaining his unjust actions to his kids some day.
“The video is still popular because it has Dhoni in it. It's like that old picture of me presenting an award to Virat Kohli when he was a kid. The picture is famous because it has Kohli in it, not because of me. I know someday my kids will eventually watch that video clip and I'll have to explain why I behaved that way.”