Kolkata: Former Indian pacer turned down Indian legendary Skipper MS Dhoni’s offer of making an international comeback due to shocking reasons.
Dhoni, the 3 times ICC trophy winning captain is known for backing and grooming various modern day greats like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, etc.
He took over the captaincy from ICC T20 WC 2007 and since then he didn’t stop reaching heights. The following year, he took over Test captaincy after retirement of Anil Kumble and later went on to win Test mace.
Dhoni once offered chance to Indian iconic pacer Ashish Nehra to comeback in the Indian Test team in 2009. Nehra, who was out from the side between 2005-2009 due to injury factors and dip in form turned down the offer due to his history of injuries.
In an interview with The Times of India a few years ago, Nehra shared an intriguing story about this situation and said: “I didn’t play for India between 2005 and 2009. A lot had changed in Indian cricket in that time. When I made a comeback, Dhoni was leading India. However, it was not that we were not on talking terms during that period. Dhoni had offered me Test cricket again in 2009, which I declined. Looking back, I do regret that decision a bit.”
Contrary to what many might assume, Dhoni did not exclude Nehra from the white-ball teams. In fact, Nehra was a member of the team led by Dhoni that triumphed in the 2011 World Cup.
After few years, Nehra joined Chennai Super Kings and rocked in IPL, as a result he made unexpected return to Indian side and participated in several bilateral series, ICC T20 WC 2016, Asia Cup 2016.
Nehra currently serves as the head coach of the Gujarat Titans, while Dhoni continues to play professionally. He is set to return to the field for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2025 season.
