RE: India tour of Australia 2011
Ojha will fancy his chances in Australia
Pragyan Ojha will fancy winning his captain's trust and playing his part in the Test series against Australia at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide. The 25-year-old who bowls conventional left-arm spin was in excellent form in the Test series against the West Indies recently.
In the first Test at Kotla and on the last day of the third Test at the Wankhede he turned out to be the star taking six for 72 in 34.2 overs and six for 47 in 27 overs respectively. Off-spinner R. Ashwin was showered with accolades for his 22 wickets at 22.90 and a century, but Ojha's effort — 20 wickets at 22.50 — was equally admirable.
With 62 wickets in 14 Tests he has played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Ojha has proved that he can be a difficult customer to deal with in favourable conditions that assist turn and offer bounce. He has plied his trade for almost eight years in first class cricket, sufficient enough to understand the significance of line, length, flight and spin and has taken 254 wickets.
Not in the scheme of things since the home series against New Zealand in late 2010, Ojha has grabbed opportunities that came in his way, especially when the national selection committee was seriously looking to deploy someone other than Harbhajan Singh as the leading spinner.
Both Ashwin and Ojha may not have faced searching examination in the short series, but they delivered with equanimity. Incidentally, Ojha has put an end to suggestions to Ravindra Jadeja's induction into Test cricket. Ojha's first litmus test in Australia will determine whether he has the potential to establish permanency in the traditional format of the game. He should consider himself lucky that he has been selected for the Test series in Australia where Indian left-arm spinners, with the notable exception of Bishan Singh Bedi (two tours between 1967-68 and 1978) and to some extent Ravi Shastri, have hardly made an impact.
Newspaper:The Hindu, 1st Dec
Ojha will fancy his chances in Australia
Pragyan Ojha will fancy winning his captain's trust and playing his part in the Test series against Australia at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide. The 25-year-old who bowls conventional left-arm spin was in excellent form in the Test series against the West Indies recently.
In the first Test at Kotla and on the last day of the third Test at the Wankhede he turned out to be the star taking six for 72 in 34.2 overs and six for 47 in 27 overs respectively. Off-spinner R. Ashwin was showered with accolades for his 22 wickets at 22.90 and a century, but Ojha's effort — 20 wickets at 22.50 — was equally admirable.
With 62 wickets in 14 Tests he has played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Ojha has proved that he can be a difficult customer to deal with in favourable conditions that assist turn and offer bounce. He has plied his trade for almost eight years in first class cricket, sufficient enough to understand the significance of line, length, flight and spin and has taken 254 wickets.
Not in the scheme of things since the home series against New Zealand in late 2010, Ojha has grabbed opportunities that came in his way, especially when the national selection committee was seriously looking to deploy someone other than Harbhajan Singh as the leading spinner.
Both Ashwin and Ojha may not have faced searching examination in the short series, but they delivered with equanimity. Incidentally, Ojha has put an end to suggestions to Ravindra Jadeja's induction into Test cricket. Ojha's first litmus test in Australia will determine whether he has the potential to establish permanency in the traditional format of the game. He should consider himself lucky that he has been selected for the Test series in Australia where Indian left-arm spinners, with the notable exception of Bishan Singh Bedi (two tours between 1967-68 and 1978) and to some extent Ravi Shastri, have hardly made an impact.
Newspaper:The Hindu, 1st Dec
