"If you can, then sprint. If not, then run. Can't run? Then jog. Won't jog? Then at least walk! Can't walk? Then crawl but just keep on moving," says Ashish Nehra as he gets ready to bid adieu to the game that has given him everything in all these years. A total of 163 international matches across three formats in 20 years is not the greatest piece of statistic but the straight-talking Nehra will remain an enigma for what he could have achieved had he not gone under knife 12 times. "Trust me, I have had an eventful 20 years. I am not a very emotional person. The next 20 years is what I am looking forward to. Hopefully, it will be as eventful as it has been since I started playing for Delhi in 1997," Nehra told PTI during a free-wheeling chat at his academy in Noida, ahead of his final competitive match against New Zealand on November 1.

Ashish Nehra