Ashish Nehra lauds 'injuries competitor' Sachin Tendulkar's mental strength to bounce back

Former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra's glorious career for India was hampered by many injuries. The 41-year-old made his debut for India in the year 1999 and went on to make a total of 382 appearances for the country. The left-arm pacer went through a total of 12 surgeries in his entire cricketing career. Such was his reputation that one of Nehra's ex-teammates, Yuvraj Singh once said in an interview: "Ashish Nehra is player who can get injured while sleeping too”.

However, Ashish Nehra recently said that cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar also suffered a similar fate as him when it comes to injuries but his winning mentality helped the latter overcome all hurdles and enjoy a stellar 24-year career for India from 1989 to 2013.

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India Lockdown: Ashish Nehra on Sachin Tendulkar's battle with injuries

In an interview with Star Sports, Ashish Nehra said: “Many people say that I had many injuries but Tendulkar too had many injuries. But despite that, he kept on playing and performing. It was not easy for him as he always had huge pressure on him to perform. Sachin was mentally very tough, very strong,”. Sachin Tendulkar revealed that he underwent surgery because of injuries 10 times in his career. The 'tennis elbow' injury was unheard of in India until it kept Sachin Tendulkar out of the game for a vast period of time in the mid-2000s.

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VVS Laxman recalls an incident about Sachin Tendulkar centuries

India's former ace VVS Laxman was also present on the Star Sports show with Ashish Nehra. VVS Laxman recalled Sachin Tendulkar's hundred against Kenya in 1999 World Cup. 'The God of Cricket' scored the hundred just days after his father passed away. VVS Laxman said that it was one of the most memorable innings of Tendulkar's career. Laxman added that Sachin Tendulkar was very proud of his upbringing and that his father was an inspiration and a role model for him.

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Sachin Tendulkar centuries: VVS Laxman on Tendulkar's century against Kenya

"Sachin always tried to follow his father. He told me later that the flight he took from London to Mumbai after his father passed away felt very long. But his mother and brother Ajit told him that his father would be happy if he went back and played in the World Cup and he came back and scored a century against Kenya four days later. “He may have scored a hundred centuries but he will remember that ton. He dedicated it to his father," VVS Laxman said.

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