Rayudu to lead Hyderabad, Ojha set to return

Ambati Rayudu, who represented Vidarbha for a while, will return to Hyderabad as the captain while left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha who joined Bengal in 2015 could also return to his home team provided he is issued a NOC by his present side.

HCA secretary Shesh Narayan: 'Rayudu wanted to come back, and we gave him the opportunity. He is going to lead the side now'.

All this while, it was being considered as a possibility. But the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has finally decided to appoint Ambati Rayudu as the skipper of Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy.

When the India batsman returned to his state team in March, after playing for Vidarbha for a while, there were talks that Rayudu may finally be handed over the captain’s hat. On Monday, putting the speculations to rest, HCA secretary T Shesh Narayan confirmed to  Sportstar that Rayudu will actually be captaining the side in the domestic season.

“Rayudu wanted to come back, and we gave him the opportunity. He is going to lead the side now,” Shesh Narayan said.

That’s not all. If everything falls into place, Hyderabad is all set to bring back another homeboy-Pragyan Ojha-into the side, provided he is issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) by his present side, Bengal.

After playing a few seasons for Bengal, Ojha approached the newly-elected HCA officials a few months back, citing that he had some family issues and he wanted to return home.

 

Though Shesh Narayan agreed that Ojha has expressed his willingness to come back to Hyderabad, he also made it clear that they would only take it forward if the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) issues the NOC to the spinner. “The boy (Ojha) has shown interest in coming back to Hyderabad. Since he belongs to here, why will we have any problem in taking him back? We have told him that,” he said, adding: “It is CAB’s call to approve his NOC. He is an asset for any team and we would definitely want him back. But then, we would also respect Ganguly’s stance. Any decision will be taken (on our side) on the consent and willingness of the CAB. We are not poaching anyone, and we don’t want any bad blood”.

After playing a few seasons for Bengal, Ojha approached the newly-elected HCA officials a few months back, citing that he had some family issues and he wanted to return home.

While the HCA kept the suspense alive, sources in the CAB claimed that the state association has already issued the NOC, paving Ojha’s way to return to where he belongs-Hyderabad!