India’s cash-rich tournament, the Indian Premier League is underway. Over the 11 years of the tournament, IPL has unearthed several talents and has opened the gates for many youngsters to prove their talent to the cricketing world. Several Indian cricketers including Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal owe their success to the tournament. But the efforts of may have remained unnoticed in these 11 years and Pragyan Ojha was among them.
Ojha a slow left-arm orthodox bowler has once achieved World No 5 ranking as his career-best ranking in ICC Test players rankings. And he is the only spinner to win the ‘Purpule Cap’ in the IPL in 2010. Ojha was the most successful coveted spinner. He set the third season on fire by picking up 21 wickets. And thus clinched the ‘Purple Cap’. Ojha was part of three-time title-winning teams- 1 for Deccan Charges and 2 for Mumbai Indians. He has performed exceedingly well in the six editions of IPL, earning him the praise of his captain Adam Gilchrist and Sachin Tendulkar. In the same edition, Ojha picked up 16 wickets. But then, as fate would have it, then there was a dip in his performance. In 2014, Ojha played for Mumbai Indians (MI) and picked just 4 wickets in 12 games. Following that year, he played only one game without a wicket. And since then the spinner has been waiting for an IPL call.
The term ‘One man’s loss is another man’s gain’ suits the best to Pragyan Ojha. He was axed from the Team India when mostly he was at his best and has since struggled to reclaim his spot in the squad. He was one of the fastest Indian bowlers to 100 Test wickets. But ever since his departure, Ravindra Jadeja, another left-arm spinner cemented his place in the Indian team. In December 2014 Ojha was barred from bowling in competitive cricket after his action was found to be illegal. Later on January 2015 Ojha cleared the test and was allowed to resume his bowling. And the bowler is looking to make a comeback.
