Mumbai: Two natives of Odisha and former cricketers – Shiv Sundar Das and Pragyan Ojha – are now part of Indian cricket’s decision-making structure.
Ojha along with RP Singh were inducted into Men’s Senior Selection Committee, replacing S Sharath and Subroto Banerjee from South and Central zones, respectively, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday.
The reconstituted panel is led by Ajit Agarkar, whose term runs till October 2026, and also has Ajay Ratra
. Shiv Sundar, who played 23 Tests and 4 ODIs, had joined the committee in 2023. Singh and Ojha are expected to bring fresh perspectives, leveraging their knowledge of modern cricket and team dynamics.
Hailing from Odisha, Ojha featured in 24 Tests, 18 ODIs, and six T20Is from 2009 to 2013. He was highly effective on spin-friendly pitches, claiming 113 Test wickets, including seven five-wicket hauls, along with 21 ODI wickets and 10 T20I wickets. The former left-arm spinner played for Hyderabad, Bengal and Bihar in domestic cricket.
In the IPL, Ojha played for Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians, taking 89 wickets in 92 matches at an economy rate of 7.36. He retired from international cricket in February 2020. He had also served in the IPL Governing council.
Debashish Mohanty named fast bowling coach of India U-19 team
Debashish Mohanty, another former India international from Odisha, has been appointed as the fast-bowling coach of the India U-19 team for the forthcoming tour of Australia.
Former India and Odisha pacer Debashish Mohanty, who played 2 Tests and 45 ODIs for India, was also part of the previous selection committee.