With the inclusion of Pragyan Ojha, the Bengal Ranji team will be much more stronger © AFP
Pragyan Ojha, the India discard left-arm spinner is all set to leave Hyderabad and represent Bengal from next domestic season. The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has already issued the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Ojha. According to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rules, to switch team in domestic circuit, one needs to obtain the clearance from home association and submit it to the board. Ojjha has already done that.
The Bengal Ranji team was looking for a quality spin option for a long time and with Ojha coming in to the side, the team will be much stronger. It is being learnt from our source in Kolkata, that Sourav Ganguly, who is the Joint Secretary of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has convinced him to play for Bengal.
In February this year, Ojha was cleared to bowl by BCCI after being suspended for bowling with an illegal action in the 2014-15 season. During that period, he was sidelined from the Indian team. Now if he joins Bengal, an elite Ranji team, his bid to return to international cricket will be much more stronger. Though the final approval of this move still remained under the jurisdiction of executive committee of CAB.
For Hyderabad cricket it is going to be a huge setback. They lost a quality batsman like Ambati Rayudu few years back. Now this move will make Hyderabad team much weaker. They are already seeded at Group C (The Group of the lowest ranked Ranji teams) in the upcoming season.
However, Bengal are also looking to secure the services of former India batsman and Lalachand Rajput, as a head coach of the senior team. If he finally agrees to join, then the Mumbaikar will replace, Ashok Malhotra, the current coach.
(Sandipan Banerjee is a reporter at CricketCountry. Cricket has been the biggest passion for him since his childhood. So, when it came to choosing his career, he chose to turn his passion into his profession. Apart from cricket he likes mountain trekking, river rafting, and photography. His twitter handle is @im_sandipan)