'Ojha, iski Ghanti baja dhe’ – Pragyan Ojha recalls his best moment alongside MS Dhoni

Pragyan Ojha, the former Indian cricketer, has recalled how MS Dhoni used to lighten the mood in tense situations. The left-arm spinner has played most of his cricket under the now 39-year-old and he became nostalgic after the latter hung his boots from international cricket on Saturday, August 15.

Ojha, who retired earlier this year, told that the Jharkhand-born, who’s known for his calm demeanour, had a decent sense of humour, keeping the players cheerful. The veteran said how Dhoni, once during a match against England, motivated him to bowl against Ian Bell.

It was his way of playing cricket: Pragyan Ojha

“The best moment with Dhoni was when we were playing against England, MS Dhoni said – ‘Ojha, iski Ghanti baja dhe’ – to Ian Bell. That was hilarious, in a tense moment when you’re focusing hard and he’s trying to calm things down. It was his way of playing cricket – very humorous and witty, without insulting anyone,” Ojha was quoted as saying in an interview with Cricket Next.

Ojha didn’t hesitate to say that Dhoni is one of the best skippers he plied his trade under. The 33-year-old mentioned that in a generation, dominated by batters, Dhoni injected confidence into the bowlers and backed them to the hilt.

“After that I got into the Indian team, and by far he is one of the best captains I’ve played under because I always believe that a captain has to be a bowler’s captain. This is a batsman-oriented game, so the captain plays a very crucial role, always backing you and giving you confidence. The bowler wins you games,” Ojha added.

Previously, Kuldeep Yadav and many others expressed their gratitude towards Dhoni for helping them out. Known for reading a game with precision, Dhoni also gave suggestions to the bowlers and the advises worked wonders for them.

From 2008 to 2013, the 33-year-old Ojha played a crucial role for India across formats. In 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and six T20Is, the Orissa-born churned out 113, 21 and 10 wickets respectively. He played his last international game against the West Indies in 2013. Interestingly, it was also Sachin Tendulkar’s final appearance at the highest level.