Naman Ojha's Test debut a great moment for MP: Jagdale

Indore: “Naman was born to play cricket. We wanted him to study but he had different dreams. We had no option but to let him chase his dream. His hardwork and dedication finally paid off. Playing Test cricket is a matter of pride. He has made a lot of people proud. Be it his coaches, his mentors, his teammates and whole Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association,” an excited Vinay Ojha, whose son Naman became 285th Test cricketer for India, told TOI on Thursday.
Naman, who was handed the Test cap by skipper Virat Kohli, was included in the playing eleven in place of injured Wriddhiman Saha against Sri Lanka in the third Test at SSC Stadium Colombo. Incidentally, Naman had also made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2010 at Harare. He has also played two Twenty20 Internationals against Zimbabwe in 2010. He has the distinction of becoming the first MP player to represent the country across all the formats.
Naman became ninth Madhya Pradesh cricketer (including Holkar era) to play Test cricket. Col CK Nayudu (7 Tests), CS Nayudu (11 Tests), Capt Mushtaq Ali (11 Tests), Chandu Sarvate (9 Tests), Khandu Rangnekar (3 Tests), Hiralal Gaikwad (1 Test), Narendra Hirwani (17 Tests), Rajesh Chauhan (21 Tests) are the others.
While he is new to international cricket, Naman has been one of the stalwarts in the domestic circuit. In 112 First Class matches he has scored 7810 runs at an average of 43.63.
“It’s a great moment for MP cricket. Last year both Naman and Ishwar were part of the Test squad in England. When two current players from same team do that, it gives confidence to others. It gives the youngsters a message that if you do well consistently and prepare to work hard, you can achieve anything,” Naman’s mentor and MPCA President Sanjay Jagdale said.
August 28 has some connection to MP cricket. On this day, former India leggie Narendra Hirwani bowled unchanged for 59 overs against England from the Vauxhall End at the Oval, London in 1990, which is the longest spell in Tests. Twenty five years later, Naman made this day more special. It was Hirwani who predicted after his retirement that Naman will be the next Test player from MP. “It’s a great moment for us. I have seen him as a 12-year-old at Cricket Club of Indore; we shared dressing room in different teams and worked hard together for many years. To see him wear Test cap is proud moment for all of us,” Hirwani said.