Pragyan Prayash Ojha is an Indian cricketer who has played in all three formats for India and for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy. He has also appeared as a guest player for Bengal in the past two seasons.
He is a left-handed batsman and a medium left-arm orthodox bowler who was born on September 5, 1986.
Background
He migrated to Hyderabad from Odisha at the age of 13 and preferred cricket as his career under the tutelage of T Vijay Paul, his mentor.
In 2004/05, he made his first-class debut and also represented India at the under-19 level. He played for Hyderabad for 11 seasons starting in the 2004-05 Ranji season before joining Bengal as a guest player.
Debut
Ojha made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in Karachi on June 28, 2008, in an Asia Cup match that India won comfortably, with Ojha finishing with figures of 2/43.
He made an impressive T20I debut against Bangladesh in the 2009 World T20, ending with 4/21 and being named man of the match.
In the second Test of Sri Lanka’s 2009 tour of India, he made his Test debut at Kanpur, where India won by an innings, with Ojha taking four wickets.
Rise to Glory
He made an impression in the 2009 IPL, when he was a member of the Deccan Chargers, who went on to win the tournament. Thanks to his success in the IPL, he made his debut in all three formats in less than a year. In Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test against West Indies at the Wankhede in 2013, he was named Man of the Match for his figures of 5/40 and 5/49.
Club Career
He was first picked up by the Deccan Chargers in 2008, and he had a fantastic couple of seasons with them, winning the league and making the semifinals under Adam Gilchrist’s captaincy.
He was then traded to the Mumbai Indians for an unspecified fee before the 2012 season, and he played for them for four seasons from 2012 to 2015.
During the 2011 season, he also played for Surrey.
Records
For a figure of 4/21 in his debut T20 match against Bangladesh in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, Ojha was named man of the match.
Sachin was named Man of the Match in his final match against the West Indies.
On August 4, 2013, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presented Ojha with a memento for claiming 100 Test Wickets.