Second Coming

Ashish Nehra hopes to share his rich experience in his new assignment as a bowling coach

- Priyanka Sharma

HE IS AN old-school player whose mantra has always been hard work. He doesn’t believe in luck and is proud to address himself as a fighter; he has bounced back every time he was laid low by injury. He might not have an account on social media and has just started using Whatsapp, but he still has a huge fan base across the globe, even after retiring as a player.

And it’s this love for the game that has brought India’s top former paceman back to his favourite zone, the 150 yard ground, three months after retirement. Ashish Nehra, who bid adieu to an illustrious two-decade cricketing career last November, started his new innings as the bowling coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League’s 11th season.

“It’s so far, so good. I am taking the new challenge in my stride. But I don’t prefer to be called a coach. It will be more of a man-management thing for me. The ultimate pleasure is playing. Nothing can beat it. After retirement, this was one of the options apart from commentary to stay connected to the game,” says Nehra.

“I am taking it as a big platform to learn as well. I hope I can add something to RCB’s armoury from the little bit of bowling experience and knowledge I have. It’s just the start. We have a good bunch of players, a few talented fast bowlers and spinners. I will try to share my experience and time with them, and hopefully we can have a good season this year. In return, I am also going to learn so many things from them. Till some months ago I was a player, so the process of learning never stops and we keep learning in every phase of our lives,” adds Nehra, who was one of the leading bowlers in these 10 years of the IPL, with 105 wickets while playing for the Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad franchises.