Key Points

Pragyan Ojha reveals his long-standing superstition of calling family before matches. A missed call in Sri Lanka led to him becoming Muralitharan's 800th Test wicket. The former spinner had a successful career with 144 international wickets. Ojha was also part of Deccan Chargers' 2009 IPL-winning team.

Key Points: Pragyan Ojha Reveals Superstition Behind Muralitharan's 800th Wicket

  • Ojha's pre-match ritual involved calling family members
  • A failed call in Sri Lanka broke his superstition
  • He was Muralitharan's milestone 800th Test wicket
  • Ojha took 113 Test wickets in his career
2 min read

Pragyan Ojha shares cricketing superstition: The call that didn't go through

Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha shares how a missed call led to him becoming Muttiah Muralitharan's historic 800th Test wicket.

"Because of that, I became Muttiah Muralitharan's 800th wicket. – Pragyan Ojha"

New Delhi, August 14

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.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

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Sarah B
As someone new to Indian cricket culture, I find these superstitions fascinating! In other sports we don't see this level of personal rituals. Ojha seems like such a family-oriented player. Wish he'd played more for India - that 10-wicket haul in Tendulkar's last match was special.
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Ananya R
Bhai, Sri Lankan network issues cost us that wicket! 😂 But seriously, Ojha was an underrated spinner. His IPL performances were always solid. Remember how he used to bowl those tight lines? Wish BCCI had given him more chances after that match-fixing cloud cleared.
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Karthik V
Respectfully disagree - while superstitions are personal, professional athletes should focus more on skill than rituals. That said, Ojha's stats speak for themselves. 113 Test wickets is no joke. His career ended too soon, just like many other talented Indian spinners.
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Priya S
Emotional story! Indian cricketers and their moms have such special bonds ❤️ Reminds me of Dhoni always looking at his mother in the stands. Ojha's 6-47 was magical! Hope he gets into coaching - we need more mentors like his uncle who inspired him.
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Vikram M
Typical Indian middle-class values shining through! Calling parents before important events is so us 🇮🇳 That 2009 IPL win with Chargers was legendary - Ojha, Gilchrist, Symonds combo was fire! Wonder where he disappeared after 2015 though...

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