Pragyan Prayash Ojha is a former Indian international cricketer who played as a slow left-arm orthodox spinner. He represented India in Test matches, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals between 2008 and 2013, and was a leading domestic spinner for Hyderabad and later Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. Ojha is particularly remembered for taking the final wicket of Sachin Tendulkar's Test career in November 2013.
| Full name | Pragyan Prayash Ojha |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 September 1986, Bhubaneswar, Odisha |
| Role | Bowler (slow left-arm orthodox) |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Domestic teams | Hyderabad, Bengal |
| IPL teams | Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians |
| Test debut | November 2009, vs Sri Lanka, Ahmedabad |
| ODI debut | June 2008, vs Bangladesh, Karachi |
| T20I debut | June 2008, vs Pakistan, Karachi |
| Retirement (international) | 2013 (last Test) |
| Retirement (all forms) | February 2020 |
Ojha was born in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and moved to Hyderabad in his teens to pursue cricket more seriously. He came through the Hyderabad age-group system and made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in 2004–05. Modelled in the classical left-arm spinner mould, he relied on flight, drift, and accuracy rather than aggressive turn, and was often compared in style to senior spinners of the previous generation.
Ojha quickly established himself as one of the most consistent spin bowlers on the Indian domestic circuit. He played a key role for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy and also featured in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. He later moved to Bengal, where he continued to play first-class cricket before retiring.
Ojha was part of the Deccan Chargers squad that won the IPL title in 2009 in South Africa, where he was among the leading wicket-takers of the tournament and won the Purple Cap. After the disbanding of Deccan Chargers, he played for the Mumbai Indians.
Ojha made his ODI and T20I debuts during the Asia Cup in 2008 in Pakistan. His Test debut came in November 2009 against Sri Lanka at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad. Over the next four years he formed an effective spin partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin in home Test matches, and the pair were central to several Indian victories on turning tracks.
He was a key bowler in India's home Test series wins, including the series against the West Indies, New Zealand, Australia and England during 2011–2013. In November 2013, in Sachin Tendulkar's farewell Test against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, Ojha took 10 wickets in the match and was adjudged Player of the Match; he also dismissed Darren Sammy to take the wicket that ended Tendulkar's last innings.
In 2014, Ojha's bowling action was reported during a domestic match and was found to exceed the permitted limits by ICC-affiliated testing. He underwent remedial work and was subsequently cleared to bowl again, but he did not return to the Indian Test side. He continued to play domestic cricket for Hyderabad and later Bengal before announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket in February 2020.
Ojha was regarded as a classical finger-spinner who relied on subtle variations in pace, loop, and angle of delivery. At the time of his retirement, he was among the relatively small group of Indian left-arm spinners to have taken more than 100 Test wickets, alongside earlier figures such as Bishan Singh Bedi. His career coincided with a period when India dominated home Test cricket through quality spin bowling.
After retirement, Ojha took up administrative and analytical roles in cricket. He served as a member of the Cricket Advisory Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and has worked as a television commentator and analyst on Indian cricket broadcasts.