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Ojha’s inclusion in Team India brings cheer to State cricket lovers

CUTTACK: Good news for Orissa cricket lovers. After a gap of nearly five years, yet another Orissa cricketer has found a berth in Indian cricket team when Pragyan Ojha was picked up by the national selectors for the upcoming Triangular series in Bangladesh as well as the subsequent Asia Cup to be played in Pakistan.

The 22-year-old left arm off spinner who plays for the Hyderabad and represented the Deccan Chargers in the ongoing IPL, is actually the fourth Oriya to be selected for the national team.

Sanjay Roul, Debashis Mohanty and S S Das of the state have earlier done duty for the Team India.

Born in Khurda district in 1986, Ojha started his cricketing career from Sahid Sporting club in Bhubaneswar along with Mohanty.

He played in the Under-15 inter-state cricket tournament organized by the Orissa Cricket Association. He went to Hyderabad in the year 2000 for his studies and from since then is a regular player of the Hyderabad Ranji team.

Ojha had also represented India U-19 and played against Zimbabwe and Kenya. His inclusion in the India team is to fill in the off-spinner’s slot in the absence of banned Harbhajan Singh.

Cricket lovers in the State have welcomed the inclusion of Ojha in the India team. “Although, he plays for Hyderabad but we are definitely happy that an Oriya has booked a berth in India team.

We congratulate him and wish him good luck”, said the OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera. OCA president Ranjib Biswal, a member of the national selection committee too is elated over the news. “It’s definitely a good news for every Oriya cricket lover”, Biswal said.

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