India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I: Feroz Shah Kotla decks up for Ashish Nehra's farewell match

Courtesy: Screengrab (BCCI)

New Delhi: Regarded as India's old war-horse, pacer Ashish Nehra will get a deserved farewell match at his home ground when Men in Blue take on New Zealand in the first of three T20I matches on Wednesday.

Well, that's one of the talking points ahead of today's match in Delhi. The stadium in the national capital is all decked up for the occasion, and even gets "Farewell Ashish Nehra" messages doning the stands.

The 38-year-old, however, is not an automatic starter in the playing XI. But considering his name was included in the 15-member squad for the first match only and also the video from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it's safe to assume that the left-arm pacer will get his game, and the deserved farewell in front of his family members and friends.

A little while ago, the BCCI shared a video of Indian cricketers paying tribute to Nehra. Here's the video:

VIDEO: #ThankYouAshishNehra.
Teammates pay their tribute to the fast bowler and relive their fond memories of him.. https://t.co/HWxJJipJRd pic.twitter.com/y7ykeA3pf3

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 1, 2017

Besides, Nehra has reportedly requested for the reservation of a box to have his friends and family.

India's first World Cup-winning captain, Kapil Dev also wished the veteran pacer all the best for his farewell game.

"For every sportsperson, the debut and farewell games are very special. After years of serving Indian cricket, Nehra deserves the farewell in front of his home crowd," the 1983 World Cup-winning skipper told reporters here.

Terming Nehra as a great ambassador of the game, Kapil said: "You served the country very well."

In a career plagued by injuries, Nehra played 17 Tests, 120 ODIs and 26 T20Is for India, picking up 44, 157 and 34 wickets respectively.

Nehra made India debut in a Test match against Sri Lanka at Colombo in February, 1999.