(TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: It seems Ashish Nehra has reached the finishing point of his international career. TOI has learnt that the 38-year-old left-arm pacer has picked the T20I against New Zealand, to be played at the Ferozeshah Kotla in the Capital on November 1, to be his final international match for India.

Nehra was brought into the T20 side for the ongoing three-match series against Australia after a gap of eight months since playing England earlier in the year. But captain Virat Kohli hasn't played him in the first two games.

It is learnt that Nehra had a word with the captain and the team management on Wednesday afternoon. "He (Nehra) called the entire squad and said he is calling it quits from international cricket. That caught the entire team by surprise but he requested if he could play his last game at his home ground in Delhi," a source close to the development told TOI.

There are theories that not making the playing XI in the first two games could have triggered the decision. But a top BCCI official said Nehra had already planned for this. "The team was easing him into top-flight cricket. He has not played any cricket after getting injured in the last IPL. He said he would have retired after the third match against Australia in Hyderabad. Since India play their next T20 in Delhi, Nehra prefers to play that match," the official informed.

Nehra has had an injury-plagued career which spanned 18 years. The frequent injuries forced him to retire from Test cricket 10 years ago. He has been part of two ODI World Cup campaigns - 2003 and 2011. He was ignored by the selectors despite taking 2/33 in against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup semifinal. That happens to be his last ODI since he fractured a finger in that semifinal.

The Delhi pacer was recalled ahead of the World T20 Championship in India in 2016 to add experience and variety to the attack. His performance since has been top notch.

