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Ojha's action reported in domestic cricket previously

AV Jayaprakash, the former Test umpire, said India spinner Pragyan Ojha was reported by domestic umpires last year and subsequently cleared by the committee

Sidharth Monga
Sidharth Monga
20-Oct-2014
Pragyan Ojha has not played for India this year  •  BCCI

Pragyan Ojha has not played for India this year  •  BCCI

Pragyan Ojha was Man of the Match in the last international game he played. That match, though, was played almost a year ago: a home Test against West Indies in November 2013. India have played only limited-overs cricket or Tests outside Asia since then and left-arm spinner Ojha is not a regular in either of the sides, but there has been speculation around his action. It only intensified when AV Jayaprakash, the former Test umpire and one of the BCCI's three-man committee entrusted with looking into suspect actions, was quoted in an excerpt of an interview, by Times Now, as saying that Ojha is undergoing rehabilitation for a suspect action.
When ESPNcricinfo contacted Jayaprakash, he said he was quoted out of context, but admitted that Ojha was reported by domestic umpires last year and subsequently cleared by the committee, the two other members of which are S Venkataraghavan and Javagal Srinath.
There was enough confirmation that Ojha has spent at least some time under the scanner. This is the first time it has been officially acknowledged. Jayaprakash said Ojha was free to play in the Duleep Trophy semi-final starting on Wednesday, and that his action had been deemed to be "okay".
"He was reported," Jayaprakash said. "Definitely. No question. Only thing is, he has been reported. Many bowlers get reported. They get cleared too. We have found him okay. He was there last year also. One or two balls the umpires felt were suspect. We told them it is okay, there is no problem." Since that time Ojha has participated in the IPL and the Champions League T20.
The committee doesn't stop anyone from playing; it warns the bowler and his team when it finds an action suspect. If the bowler continues to play without correcting his action, the umpires are free to call him on the field.
The BCCI's process of dealing with suspect actions is initiated when the umpires report the suspect deliveries to the committee. The committee analyses the tapes of those deliveries, and communicates its findings to the BCCI, which then lets the home association and the captain know if the action is indeed suspect.
Ojha's home association, though, says there has been no such communication. "We have not received any notification," John Manoj, Hyderabad Cricket Association's secretary, said. "As far as I know, even the player has not been conveyed anything like this. It is unfortunate that such charges have cropped up at a time when Pragyan has reached Rohtak and is eager to start a new domestic season with the Duleep Trophy semi-final. Let's hope this doesn't affect his morale."
The selection of South Zone's XI for Wednesday's Duleep Trophy match now becomes significant. If selected, all eyes will be on Ojha's action and how the BCCI and its umpires perceive it.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo