Pragyan Ojha Opens Up On Not Getting Any Opportunity Despite Taking A 10-Wicket Haul In His Last Test

One of the biggest frustration in life is when you don’t even know what wrong you’ve done that you aren’t even getting a chance despite doing everything one can ask for. Ask Pragyan Ojha. The left-arm spinner from Hyderabad, claimed 113 wickets in 24 Tests, ten of which came in a single match- vs West Indies in 2013.

Nearly six and a half years have passed and Pragyan Ojha hasn’t added a game to 24 Test caps. And, when you ask him the reason, he himself has no idea as to what happened post that Test match against the West Indies in November 2013.

“There are certain things that can’t be understood. I have thought about it (abrupt end to Test career) a lot of times. When Hyderabad got relegated, I moved to Bengal to play cricket because I wanted to play in the elite group. When you want to make a comeback, you have to play elite cricket. I had no choice. I had to leave my home state and play for Bengal. I am very thankful to Dada (Sourav Ganguly) for encouraging me at that time. I did well for Bengal and my performances were good but I was not able to understand what went wrong,” Pragyan Ojha told Sports Tak.

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Ravindra Jadeja gave a different dimension to the team- Pragyan Ojha

Ojha was a part of the troika of spinners which included the likes of  Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh during the 2012-13 home season, and with the debut and the subsequent rise of Ravindra Jadeja from the start of 2013, ultimately proved to be the death knell for Ojha’a career.

And, the left-armer admitted that the fact that Jadeja brought a new dimension to the team courtesy his all-round skills did make a huge difference.

“After the Test, I played a tournament for India A against Australia in Chennai. I got wickets there as well but I was told that a leg-spinner was needed at that time. So Mishy bhai (Amit Mishra) went to Sri Lanka. I know VVS Laxman and Venkatapathy Raju very well. They kept telling me to focus on my work and the chances will come automatically. I thought I will keep performing and the chances will come my way. I did not interact with people about this,” Pragyan Ojha added

“Maybe, when Jaddu [Jadeja] came into the team, he gave the team a different dimension. He bowled very well, he was a good batsman as well, he contributes with the bat even now. Fielding he is one of the best in the world. Maybe, because of the other dimension, I might have fallen back a bit,” Ojha said.

Ravindra Jadeja made his debut in the fourth Test of the 2012-13 home series against England and have since then proceeded to forge one of the all-time great partnership with fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Pragyan Ojha, on the other hand, announced his retirement from cricket earlier this year.

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