It was 12 years ago when Pragyan Ojha, as a gawky young boy was introduced to Vijaya Paul, the former Hyderabad Ranji middle-order batsman and a reputed coach, by his uncle at Bhavan’s Sri Ramakrishna Vidyalaya in Sainikpuri. The young cricketer had just passed his seventh class and came to Hyderabad for a career in cricket. Ojha had come all the way from Khurda in Orissa.
Paul at first glance saw something special in him. “Something told me in the mind that this boy will play for India. It was an intuition. He showed promise from a young age. He was spot on with his deliveries although he was a bit raw,” recalls Paul. Ojha’s first big match was in A-1 Division two-day league. “I remember that match in 2002. It was a small ground at Bhavans. The batsmen were hitting sixes. Ojha looked bewildered. He signalled me whether he should flight the ball or push the ball. I asked him to keep flighting the ball. The batsmen would commit mistakes. He ended up taking six wickets in 20 overs for 88 runs. It was the turning point of his career as he took 68 wickets that season and was picked for the Hyderabad Under-16 team,” says Paul, adding, “he showed the inclination to work hard from a very young age. I remember calling him in the afternoon and made him bowl to a single wicket for hours together.”
In fact, Paul once told this correspondent a few years ago, “You want a match-winning bowler. Watch out for this boy. He is going to play for India.” True to his words, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, after impressive performances in the junior and Ranji tournaments, has made his coach proud by donning the India colours. “I’m delighted with his achievements,’’ said Paul, who received a call from England the other day, a few hours before the start of the India-Bangladesh T20 World Cup match, seeking his blessings.
In the junior tournaments, Ojha always had the knack of picking wickets. Former Hyderabad dashing batsman Abdul Azeem, who was the coach of the Under-22 team in 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, spotted his talent. “I told Arjun (Yadav), who was leading the side, that we have found a match-winning bowler,’’ said Azeem. Ojha went on to become the main strike bowler by taking 58 wickets the next season, the year when Hyderabad won the All India CK Nayudu Trophy for the first time. “I knew this boy will play Ranji Trophy and soon for the country,’’ says Azeem.
Ojha, in his very first match against Railways in the Ranji semifinals at Karnail Stadium, captured five wickets. After that he became the leading wicket-taker for Hyderabad. It was during this time, cricket pundits started talking that Hyderabad have found a successor to SL Venkatapathy Raju. The former Test spinner was himself impressed with Ojha. “He had the eagerness to perform. The ball comes nicely out of his arm. With his height, he has an advantage. He can spin the ball,’’ says Raju, who had worked for long hours with Ojha at the Gymkhana grounds last year before the Lankan tour.
“He was struggling with his rhythm. But his hard work has paid off. He is a much improved and thinking bowler. I told him about the importance of line and length,’’ says Raju. Also a part of the success story was former Hyderabad Ranji off-spinner and coach Kanwaljit Singh. “He was a willing learner. What I liked about him was his attitude. He never shirked hard work. In the last year’s IPL edition, he was a bowler, who was willing to learn and this year, he was the match-winner,’’ says Kanwaljit, who was with the winning Deccan Chargers team. Ojha bagged 18 wickets in the tournament.
According to Kanwaljit, 22-year-old Ojha is bowling with a plan. “He is a thinking bowler now. He has the loop that is coming out nicely. He has the confidence to back himself. He can deceive batsmen with loop and turn. For me his best ball was to Roelof van der Merwe of Royal Challengers in the final. It was the turning point of the match. The batsman was beaten by the flight and was stumped,’’ says Kanwaljit. Kanwaljit feels Ojha is bowling from various angles. “He is having a better control over the ball. There is a lot of revolution on the ball. He gives the ball a good tweak and is also able to make clever variations. That is the key,’’ says Kanwaljit. On comparisons with Raju, Kanwaljit said Raju was a complete bowler. “He had a lovely action. He had a very good armer and also had a good loop. Ojha is learning. He gets a lot of spin because he hits the deck from a good height. I think he has developed into a match-winning bowler. He has to also learn on flat wicket. From India’s best left-arm spinner, Ojha has now made his mark in world cricket. It is this confidence that will see him blossom into a Test wicket-taking bowler also,’’ concludes Kanwaljit.
das@epmltd.com
