Naman Vinaykumar Ojha (born 20 July 1983) is an Indian former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. He made his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

debut for India against Sri Lanka on 28 August 2015. He retired from all formats of cricket on 15 February 2021. Naman Ojha was named as the captain of the India A team, which took part in the two unofficial 'Tests' and a four-nation one-day tournament, in Australia in 2016. Durin
Australia tour with India A team in 2014
he struck a double hundred and a hundred in a four-day match. A capable top-order batsman and wicketkeeper, Ojha made his first-class debut for

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

in 2000–01. He represented

Rajasthan Royals The Rajasthan Royals, also known as RR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight franchises, the team is owned by Manoj ...

in the 2009

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He opened the batting for the

and played some important innings. He scored two half centuries and hit 11 sixes in the tournament. He also plays for Indore in Madhya Pradesh T20 League. In July 2014, playing for India A in an unofficial test, Naman scored an unbeaten 219 that included 29 boundaries and 8 sixes at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. In June 2016, in his next tour to Australia representing India A, Naman was named the captain.

Domestic career

Ojha made his first-class debut for

in 2000/01. He has tasted success in the limited-overs format and in the 2008/09

Challenger Trophy The NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, commonly referred to as the Challenger Series, was an Indian List A cricket tournament organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Established in the 1994–1995 season, the tournament was play ...

scored 96 for India Green. Rajasthan Royals came calling during the second season of the

(IPL) and in his second game smashed a half-century. In November 2013, Ojha hit the tenth century of his first-class career in Madhya Pradesh's first innings against

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. This was Ojha's first fifty-plus score in 13 innings. The last time he had hit a fifty-plus score in first-class cricket was also against

in the last season when he was stumped on 99. In March 2014, Ojha scored 94 nearly guided Madhya Pradesh to victory, but tight bowling from

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resulted in MP falling eight runs short. Ojha scored unbeaten 65 guided

Central Zone Central Zone may refer to: Places * Central Indo-Aryan languages, or the "Central Zone" of Indo-Aryan, a language group of India * Central Zone, Bhutan, an administrative district of Bhutan * Central Zone of São Paulo, an administrative zone of th ...

to a win in a tricky chase against East Zone in the quarterfinals of the Deodhar Trophy. In 2014 IPL auctions, he was signed by

Sunrisers Hyderabad The Sunrisers Hyderabad, also known as SRH, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun Group and was found ...

for a fee of 83 lakhs Indian rupees. Sunrisers Hyderabad had been searching for an Indian batsman to support their big-name top order and he had 79 off 36.

Sandeep Sharma Sandeep Sharma (born 18 May 1993) is an Indian cricketer who plays domestic cricket for Chandigarh and the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. He is a right-arm medium pace bowler. Sharma has represented India at two Under-19 World Cups – 2010 and 2 ...

's medium pace enabled him to drive Sunrisers Hyderabad past the 200-mark. The 26 runs that came in the 19th over meant Sandeep's 1 for 65 became the joint second-worst figures in IPL. In his 100th first-class match Ojha scored hundred in both innings while playing for India A against Australia A at

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, in July 2014. He scored a double century in the first innings and added 122 runs with Nos. 10 and 11, whose combined contributions to those two partnerships was 11 runs, before India A declared on 9 for 475. Naman's unbeaten 219 came off 250 balls, with 29 fours and eight sixes. After reaching his 100, he scored 119 runs in 114 balls. In January 2018, he was bought by the

Delhi Daredevils The Delhi Capitals, formerly the Delhi Daredevils, also known as DC, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Delhi that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports. Its home groun ...

in the 2018 IPL auction.

International career

Ojha's senior debut came when he was included as a back-up wicket-keeper in the T20I side for India's 2010 tour of Zimbabwe and an ODI Tri-series on the same tour, when the selectors decided to rest several senior players including wicket-keeper

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian professional cricketer who plays as a right-handed batter and a wicket-keeper. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific wicket-keeper batsmen and captains and one of the greatest O ...

. His Test debut came at the age of 32, in August 2015, in the third Test of India's tour of Sri Lanka, after wicket-keeper

Wriddhiman Saha Wriddhiman Saha (born 24 October 1984) is a former Indian cricketer who played for the national cricket team. He is the former first-class wicket-keeper of Bengal cricket team in domestic cricket and Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League ...

had to sit out due to a hamstring injury. Ojha finished the Test with 56 runs, four catches and one stumping.

References

External links

*
Naman Ojha
s profile page on Wisden

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojha, Naman 1983 births Living people Cricketers from Madhya Pradesh People from Ujjain Madhya Pradesh cricketers Indian cricketers India Test cricketers India One Day International cricketers India Twenty20 International cricketers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Rajasthan Royals cricketers Delhi Capitals cricketers Sunrisers Hyderabad cricketers Central Zone cricketers India Green cricketers India Blue cricketers Wicket-keepers