Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary unaware of the whereabouts of Pragyan Ojha

The man has vanished into thin air. Might sound like the dialogue from a thrilling movie, but this is exactly the case with one of Bengal’s most precious assets, Pragyan Ojha. The man from Hyderabad had a very interesting cricketing life till now, and the thrill quotient is getting high day by day. Once an Indian team regular, he was reported for suspect action a few years ago. Tried to bring good fortune back by changing his state-level commitments, but had a feud with some player of his new team, Bengal.

Tried to go back to his hometown, but the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Sourav Ganguly rejected his request for a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Baffled, frustrated, agitated, the spinner has vanished and vanished in such a manner that just a few days before the start of Ranji Trophy, skipper Manoj Tiwary doesn’t know where his team’s prime bowler is.

Firstly, he didn’t care enough to attend Bengal’s pre-season camp. Then, he didn’t care enough to contact the state selectors who have been trying to get in touch with him. When Tiwary was asked about him by PTI, the man came up with a clean slate and said, “Look, I have not had any contact with Pragyan Ojha for quote some time now. I have no updates on what he is up to. Also selection matters are not my domain. I have a bigger job in hand, to ensure that Bengal does well this time.”

Tiwary not interested in making any comment

The 31-year-old from Howrah is known for his straight-forward attitude, as his brawl with Gautam Gambhir and his stunning reply to Rashid Latif is still fresh in many cricket lovers’ mind. But in this case, he backed off from making any comment.

When asked about whether he should be released or not, Tiwary said, “You are asking the question to a wrong person. I am not a decision making authority. Moreover, I have the responsibility of running the team smoothly and my concern cannot be about any particular individual. There are two sides to a story and I don’t know any of the sides. So it will be very unfair on my part to make any comments.”