Hyderabad, Aug 2 (IANS) Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha will be playing for English county Surrey in the first-class and One-day format to gain experience in the lean domestic season.
Ojha has been granted permission by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to play in England and could make his debut for Surrey in a CB40 One-dayer against Northamptonshire August 15. The 24-year-old cricketer is waiting for his visa clearances and hopes to leave for England in a week’s time.
Ojha was member of the Indian squad in the West Indies and last played an international match in November 2010.
‘With not much cricket around for me at the moment, I thought it would be best if I could utilise the time by playing some county cricket in England,’ Ojha was quoted as saying by the ESPNcricinfo.
Ojha has a bit of an idea about English conditions as he represented India in the World Twenty20 in 2009 and had a month long stint with the Slathwaite Cricket Club in the Huddersfield League in Yorkshire in 2007.
Ojha said it will be a challenge for him to play on surfaces which don’t offer much to spinners.
‘It will be a huge challenge for me to play on pitches in England that are not spinner-friendly. I am really looking forward to gaining experience in those conditions,’ he said.
The other Indian spinners who have played country cricket in the past are Bishan Bedi, Dilip Doshi, Maninder Singh, Sunil Joshi and Murali Kartik.
