Mumbai: It was only recently decided by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that Indian players would be allowed to play club cricket abroad provided the dates don’t clash with national or international cricket. BCCI’s technical committee chairman Sourav Ganguly is believed to be the man behind the move during a spate of meetings in the southern metropolis of Bangalore.
The first beneficiary of the scheme would be current Bengal left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. The tweaker who played 24 Test matches donning India colours though hasn’t yet decided which County he will play for. “I applied for permission, can’t comment on anything more at this stage,” Ojha told SportsCrunch. Ojha, it is learnt, have few offers from England but all are in negotiation stage.
The BCCI has given go-ahead to Indian players’ participation in foreign leagues, but it clearly said that no player would be allowed to take part in Indian Premier League-style tournament anywhere in the world.
This can be considered a big leap for Ojha, particularly after he was suspended from bowling for illegal action back in 2013. The ban on Ojha came down just after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium back in November 2013. For the record, he won the man of the match award in that Test match for returning match figures of 10 for 99.
The left-arm spinner had even travelled to specialist facilities in Sri Lanka for rectification of his action and then appeared in the domestic scene for the first time since ban, was in October last year. The Hyderabadi spinner is involved in India’s many Test match wins particularly after iconic Anil Kumble hung up his boots.