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NDTV
4 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
"Before A Match, I Would Automatically...": Pragyan Ojha Shares Cricketing Superstition
Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha shared his long-standing superstition. He mentioned that he always called his family before a match, but a missed call due to poor network in Sri Lanka led to him becoming Muttiah Muralitharan's 800th wicket. Ojha last played an international game in 2013, which was also the retirement match for Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar at the Wankhede Stadium. In the game, he managed to take ten wickets and was awarded the Player of the Match. Speaking on 'Cheeky Singles', Pragyan Ojha said, "Whenever I used to get in the team bus before a match, I would automatically call my mom, then my dad. Even if both of them were sitting together, I'd call them separately. Then I'd call my uncle, who was a cricketer and the one who inspired me to take up the game. Even if I had called my uncle 10 minutes before the match, he would have picked up. But in Sri Lanka, at that time, there was no network, and the call didn't go through. Because of that, I became Muttiah Muralitharan's 800th wicket." The 33-year-old Ojha had made his international debut in 2008 against Bangladesh in Karachi. A year later, he went on to make his Test debut against Sri Lanka . The spinner went on to play 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and six T20Is for India and finished with a total of 144 wickets in the international game. In the longest format of the game, he managed to take 113 wickets, with the best bowling figures of 6-47. He was last seen in action in 2018 as he played a first-class match in Dehradun. He also made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League as he played for the Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. He was a key member of the Deccan Chargers IPL-winning team in 2009. He last played a match in the premier tournament in 2015 for the Mumbai Indians.
Hindustan Times
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Rohit Sharma's childhood coach admitted mistake for not identifying IND great's talent early: ‘Didn't know it was him…'
Rohit Sharma has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific batters in Indian cricket history, but when he started playing cricket at a young age, his plans were completely different. The swashbuckling opener, who holds the record of the highest-ever individual score in ODI cricket history - 264, also has an IPL hat-trick in his kitty to brag about. Rohit achieved the feat with the ball when he used to play at Deccan Chargers, but he still remains the only player in the league history to score a century and claim a hat-trick in the tournament. Early in his international journey, Rohit Sharma occasionally filled in as a part-time spinner, especially after grabbing headlines in the IPL with a hat-trick(AFP) His childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, also asserted that when he scouted the veteran batter, he was 12 years old, and he used to train him for his bowling. 'I first saw him as a bowler, he was about 12 years old. I saw him playing a match against us. Then I told his uncle (Chacha) to get him admitted to my school. The school started in 1995, and I saw Rohit in 1999. He took admission that year. In the first year, he was in under 14. During practice, I kept making him bowl. Next year, Rohit went to 8th standard and was 14 years old," Rohit's coach Lad said on a podcast with Gaurav Mangalani. Early in his international journey, he occasionally filled in as a part-time spinner, especially after grabbing headlines in the IPL with a hat-trick. Over time, he collected nine wickets in One-Day Internationals, two in Test matches, and one in T20 Internationals. However, as his reputation as a fearless, free‑scoring opener grew, his bowling responsibilities gradually diminished. Lad shed light on how he discovered Rohit's batting talent, admitting his mistake of not identifying it earlier. 'I felt he should be kept in both the under-16 and under-14 teams. One day, while entering the school, I saw a boy knocking (batting). From outside, I saw the bat was coming very straight and good. I didn't know it was Rohit at first. When I went inside, I asked him if he was batting. He said yes, sir. Then I gave him some batting in the nets at number six or seven. Before that, I had never given him batting practice. That was my mistake,' he continued. 'I felt Rohit Sharma had a very good talent for batting' Lad further revealed that Rohit's 40-run knock at number 7 promoted him to the batting line-up. He advised Rohit to concentrate on his batting, a shift that ultimately changed the course of his career. 'He batted well. In a match, he went in at number seven and scored 40 runs. Very good 40, but unfortunately, we lost the match. When the under-14 practice started after the Harris Shield, the Giles Shield practice was on, I started giving him batting at second and third position in nets. The way he was batting, I felt he had a very good talent for batting. So it was important for him to focus on it. I told him to focus more on batting but keep bowling too,' Lad said.
Indian Express
10-08-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Childhood coach explains Rohit Sharma's transition from off-spinner to batter: ‘I told his uncle to get him admitted to my school…'
Rohit Sharma is the only batter in the history of the Indian Premier League to have a hat-trick and a century to his name. Although he has multiple centuries in the IPL but he has mentioned in the past on podcasts how much he enjoyed his hat-trick for the Deccan Chargers in 2009. However, as his career progressed, he limited himself to rolling his arm over during the games, but he started his cricketing aspirations as an off-spinner. 'I felt he should be kept in both the under-16 and under-14 teams. One day, while entering the school, I saw a boy knocking (batting). From outside, I saw the bat was coming very straight and good. I didn't know it was Rohit at first. When I went inside, I asked him if he was batting. He said yes, sir. Then I gave him some batting in the nets at number six or seven. Before that, I had never given him batting practice. That was my mistake,' he continued. 'He batted well. In a match, he went in at number seven and scored 40 runs. Very good 40, but unfortunately, we lost the match. When the under-14 practice started after the Harris Shield, the Giles Shield practice was on, I started giving him batting at second and third position in nets. The way he was batting, I felt he had a very good talent for batting. So it was important for him to focus on it. I told him to focus more on batting but keep bowling too,' Lad said. Rohit, the batter, ended up scoring 4301 runs from 67 Tests, 11168 runs from 273 ODIs, and 4231 runs in 159 T20Is for India
Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
'I have given this team my youth, my prime and my experience': Virat Kohli shows raw emotions after realising IPL dream
You cannot write such scripts. In one year, Virat Kohli has completed cricket. Last year, around the same time, he won the T20 World Cup, a few months ago the Champions Trophy and finally tonight, the IPL title. For someone who has been with the RCB for almost two decades and seen it all – euphoria and heartbreaks – it was natural for Kohli to break down in tears. But the words that came out of his mouth afterwards showed the magnitude of the win. Kohli started with this team back in its year of inception. In 2008, Kohli was yet to turn 18. From beginning as a teenager to captaining the side and now becoming a legend of world cricket, Kohli finally knows what it's like to win the IPL. Even as he picked himself up from those tears of joy. Even as he celebrated one of the biggest wins of his career with his better half, Anushka Sharma. Even as he reunited with his best friend AB de Villiers and the Universe Boss Chris Gayle, it was when he spoke about it is when it all made sense. "This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team. It's been 18 long years. I've given this team my youth, prime and experience. I've tried to win it every season, gave it everything I have. To finally have it is an unbelievable feeling. Never thought this day would come, I was overcome with emotion after the last ball was bowled," Kohli said after the win. Also Read: Virat Kohli fails to hold back tears, goes down on his knees after RCB end 18-year-long wait to become IPL champions "It's right up there, if I have to be honest. As I said, I've given everything that I had for the last 18 years. I've stayed loyal to this team, no matter what. I've had moments where I thought otherwise, but I stuck to this team. I stood behind them, they stood behind me. And I always dreamt of winning it with them. And this is far more special than winning it with anyone else because my heart is with Bangalore, my soul is with Bangalore. A few years ago, Kohli was asked if he would ever play for a team in the IPL that's not RCB. After all, even the greatest have switched franchises. Rohit Sharma, the only player to win six IPL trophies started off with the Deccan Chargers before becoming a legend with the Mumbai Indians. MS Dhoni too – albeit he was forced to – was associated with the Rising Pune Supergiant when Chennai Super Kings were banned for two years. Heck, even De Villiers was with Delhi Capitals when they were the Daredevils. But the one man who stayed along with RCB, with one franchise forever, never to have second thoughts, is Kohli. "And as I said, this is the team I'm going to play for till the last day that I play the IPL. So this one is absolutely right up there because you know, as a sportsman, when you grind for something, and this is a very high intensity, high-quality tournament, which is of great value in world cricket today. And I'm someone who wants to win the big tournaments, the big moments, and this one was missing. And tonight, I'm going to sleep like a baby," he added.
The Hindu
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Every IPL winner since inception: 2008–2024
In total, seven teams have lifted the IPL trophy over the 18 editions of the annual tournament — one of them is the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. Two teams weren't part of the tournament (Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans) when the league began in 2008. RCB has reached the IPL final thrice (2009, 2011, 2016) but returned home without a trophy on all three occasions. On the other hand, Punjab earned a spot in the final for the first time in 11 years. In 2014, Punjab made its way into the final but fell short against the eventual winners, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Script and Production: Shikha Kumari. A
