Calcutta: Ashish Nehra was at Dharamsala airport waiting to board a flight back to New Delhi, late on Monday afternoon, when The Telegraph contacted him on his cellphone.

Left-armer Nehra, who turns 39 next April, spent the next 20-odd minutes answering questions from this newspaper.

In recent years, Nehra (who began his India career as a Test cricketer) has turned himself into a T20 specialist, a format he is quite lethal at.

Nehra's Dharamsala trip, by the way, had been at the request of former India opener and selector Vikram Rathour, who is the director of cricket in Himachal Pradesh. Nehra spent three days working and practising with the state's new-ball bowlers.

Excerpts

Strictly technically, a comeback in the T20I squad after the one-off matches in the West Indies and in Sri Lanka...

The series against Australia will be the first full-fledged one since the three matches against England earlier this year. I don't think anybody would have been sent from India to the West Indies for one match only. Likewise for the solitary match in Sri Lanka... The India versus Australia series isn't for the U-35s only, so I was eligible and the selectors and the team management again felt that I could bring something extra to the table. That's the reason why I am in the squad. The captain (Virat Kohli) trusts me enough to give the ball in the first six and the last five overs.

Going strong despite being in his 39th year...

Look, fast bowling isn't easy at my age. However, if you work hard, put in the tough yards, then nothing is impossible. If a guy like me can be selected as a fast bowler even after 12 surgeries, then I guess anybody can play... Just look at (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni, look at his incredible fitness. Dhoni is still the best runner out on the park.

A book, perhaps, on 12 surgeries...

(Laughs ) I am a book myself, what's the need to write one?

Continuing to make headlines even when a mere four months short of completing 19 years as an India cricketer...

The reality is that it is news if I do well and bigger news if I don't.

Formula for meeting the fitness parameters when in his 39th year...

You have to leave your wife and kids at home and just keep training! Seriously, there's no rocket science involved. You have to give a lot of time to your body and, if you do that, the results will follow... There's a difference between being unfit and getting injured. Both are not the same. Sadly, often, the two get mixed up and the wrong impression is created.

Motivation No.1...

The blue cap and the blue jersey of India. Those two alone motivate me and I really do not need to draw inspiration from anybody or any path-breaking happening. If the India cap isn't motivation enough, then I suppose nothing will motivate.

Thoughts on the future...

At this age I don't look beyond one series, for I can't say that I am hoping to play for another two years. If I was a batsman, I could of course have knocked on the doors for another three-four years.

After retirement...

I'd like to be remembered as a trier, somebody who never gave up... A fighter.

Message for the over-30s who are waiting for a recall...

Bottom line is that you have to keep performing, keep knocking on the door. If you are a batsman and 700 runs aren't good enough in a season, aim for 1000 in the next. If even that doesn't impress the selectors, then target 1500 runs. We cricketers can only do what is in our hands. It's up to us to perform and meet the parameters laid out for fitness. You have to ask yourself: Am I ready to deliver if the phone call comes?

Example set by Dhoni...

If Dhoni continues to perform when he reaches the age of 40, then he will continue to play for India. Age cannot be an argument and you can't look at a 22-year-old wicket-keeper and bring him in only because Dhoni is currently 35-plus. It's all about performance and Dhoni remains a performer. Some people had begun questioning Dhoni's place, but they have become quiet after he got runs in Sri Lanka and in the just-ended series against Australia... I've always believed that the present makes the future.

India's performances in recent months, which have been top class...

Do I need to say anything about the performances? Results have done the talking.

Virat's remarkable progress as a batsman and as the India captain in all three formats...

Amazing... Good for Virat and good for India. The country, I must say, is lucky to have Virat and Dhoni.

The final one... Regrets?

( Emotionally) That I missed so much of Test cricket owing to one injury or the other. It's a huge regret.