Former pacer Ashish Nehra recalls how MS Dhoni convinced him to play 2011 World Cup

While speculations may be rife regarding MS Dhoni’s international future, there was a time when he had stopped Ashish Nehra from hanging his boots right before the 2011 World Cup which was held in India. According to a report in Times Now that cited Nehra’s recent interaction in the Wisden’s Greatest Rivalry Podcast, the former cricketer revealed how Dhoni prevented him from calling it quits. “Listen, just hang in there for another two to three weeks. See how you feel. Be with the physio, sort it out with him, wait for two-three weeks and then we’ll see how it goes,” said Nehra, recalling how Dhoni changed his mind when he was not in the best of physical conditions and was contemplating quitting. The advice worked as Nehra went on to feature in three matches in the World Cup. He returned with figures of 1 for 22 against the Netherlands, had an off game against South Africa, and went on to play in the semi-final against Pakistan. While Nehra gave a stellar performance with two quick wickets which saw India win the game by 29 runs, unfortunately, he had to miss the final against Sri Lanka owing to split webbing in his right hand. “It was very disappointing but it was satisfying as well that we won the final, we won the World Cup,” he said, adding that it was a roller-coaster ride for him. Nehra retired from international cricket in 2017, having played his last match against New Zealand in a T20 International in Delhi.