Naman Ojha

Another wicket-keeper batsman whose career eclipsed with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni Era, Naman Ojha was an elegant right-handed batsman and a safe man behind the stumps. He actively represented Madhya Pradesh for two decades and got his chance to don the Indian whites when Dhoni retired, apart from wearing the Blues a couple of times. 

Ojha debuted for his state team during the 2000-01 season. Over the years, he became a stalwart for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket where he scored close to 15000 runs and plucked more than 700 dismissals behind the wickets. However, Ojha could never impress the national selectors. 

The keeper-batsman was at his prime in the limited-overs format during the 2008-09 Challenger Trophy, where he scored a vital 96 for India Green to take IPL’s scouts after him. Rajasthan Royals picked him for the IPL 2009 and became a renowned name in the Indian T20 league. Soon the Ujjain-born was called as a back-up wicketkeeper for the tour of Zimbabwe as Dhoni was rested. Ojha got an ODI and two T20Is but he failed to make an impression.

The keeper-batsman made a solid statement during the 2013-14 domestic season. He smashed 835 runs in seven Ranji Trophy games and continued his purple patch against Australia A. He scored three consecutive centuries, including a double-century, to get another India call-up. Ojha was selected as a reverse keeper-batsman for the tour of Australia in 2014-15 but didn’t make his Test debut then. However, he got his Test cap in Sri Lanka to play the Colomba Test in 2015. 

Meanwhile, he was also bagged by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the 2014 IPL season and was also part of the 2016 title-winning team. Two years later, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 IPL auction. Although that edition became the last for Ojha. After playing the sport for twenty seasons, the domestic legend retired from all forms in the game in 2021. 

(As of May 2021)