Bowling action of Odisha cricketer Pragyan Ojha cleared

Odisha Sun Times Sports Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Feb 5:

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today gave a clean chit to Odisha bowler Pragyan Ojha, who was suspended for his suspicious bowling action in December last year, and allowed him to play the Ranji Trophy Group C match for Hyderabad against Himachal Pradesh beginning tomorrow.

The BCCI clearance came after Ojha’s action was tested again at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College campus in Chennai.

Released by the Mumbai Indians following his suspension, Ojha will now be available for the Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction scheduled on February 16.

Expressing happiness, the left arm orthodox spinner said he has corrected his bowling action.

Ojha was guided by coaches D Vasu and M Venkataramana at the BCCI specialist academy, who had found that his arm was bending due to lack of proper body weight transfer.

Apart from the two coaches, Ojha also thanked former Test star VVS Laxman and three of his close friends – Amol Shinde, Alfred Absolem and PS Niranjan – who he said kept him focussed and positive.

The Odisha cricketer, who was reported for a suspect action during the zonal one-dayers in November last year, volunteered himself to get his action tested and was subsequently suspended by the BCCI in December.