Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who represented the country at the highest level has retired from international and first-class cricket with immediate effect. Ojha himself took to his official Twitter handle to confirm the news about his retirement and thanked everyone for their relentless support throughout his cricketing career.
Ojha was last seen playing for India against the West Indies in legendary Sachin Tendulkar‘s farewell Test match in the year 2013. The Odisha-born bowler made his Test debut for the Indian national cricket team against Sri Lanka in 2009.
He made an instant impact with the ball as he accounted for 113 dismissals in just 24 Tests.
The 33-year-old Ojha represented India in 18 ODIs and six T20Is, where he bagged 21 and 10 wickets respectively.
It is time I move on to the next phase of my life: Pragyan Ojha
Ojha is looking forward to a new chapter in his life and for him, the next goal is to teach the important lessons of life to his beloved son Yohaan.
“It’s time I move on to the next phase of my life. The love and support of each and every individual will always remain with me and motivate me all the time,” Pragyan Ojha tweeted.
It’s time I move on to the next phase of my life. The love and support of each and every individual will always remain with me and motivate me all the time ?? pic.twitter.com/WoK0WfnCR7
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) February 21, 2020
Notably, Ojha brought the best out of himself in first-class cricket where he took 424 wickets in 108 matches. His last appearance in first-class cricket came in the year 2018 when he plied his trade for Bihar against Uttarakhand.
He represented the now-defunct Deccan Chargers and was part of the title-winning team in IPL 2009. Ojha impressed everyone in the IPL 2009 final where he was the pick of the bowlers for bagging three for 28 in his four-over bowling spell.
After a memorable campaign, he played for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). His last appearance in the IPL came in the year 2015. Having played 92 games in IPL, he bagged a total of 89 wickets.