Mumbai, Tamilnadu and Delhi have the reputation of producing cricket prodigies in the Indian domain. The players from top metropolitan cities tend to dominate the Indian cricket diaspora. However, some skilled cricketers from other states have made a significant impact on Indian cricket without top-notch equipment and facilities.
Odisha is one such state that has produced a few remarkable players for Indian cricket. Cricreads sheds some light on Odia cricketers who rose to prominence due to their hard work and persistence.
Here are the 8 famous Odia cricketers:
1) Pragyan Ojha
The former Indian cricketer has played every format for India and has won the Purple Cap for most wickets in the third edition of IPL. Ojha is a slow left arm orthodox bowler who attacks the stumps with utmost precision. He left the cricketing world as a player in February 2020 to assume responsibilities in BCCI.
2. Debashis Mohanty
The Bhubaneswar born cricketer represented India in 2 Tests and 45 ODIs. He was a right arm medium pacer whose inswinger garnered a lot of attention. He was appointed as coach of the Odisha Ranji team from 2011 to 2017.
3. Shiv Sundar Das
Das replaced Mohanty as the coach of the Odisha Ranji team in 2017. As an opening batter he had scored 2 centuries for India in Tests. He was appointed as the batting coach of India Women’s team in 2021.
4. Subranshu Senapati
Senapati created a lot of buzz when Chennai Super Kings bought him for RS 20 lakh in Tata IPL 2022 Mega Auction. The right-handed middle order batsman is the captain of current Odisha Ranji team and recently displayed his batting prowess in Vijay Hazare trophy.
5. Biplab Samantray
Biplab is an Odia all-rounder, who bowls right-handed medium pace and bats in the middle order. He has represented SRH in nine matches in IPL and was an integral part of the East Zone team which won its first ever Duleep trophy in 2012.
6. Abhishek Raut
Born in Maharashtra, Raut represents the Odisha cricket team in domestic sphere of Indian cricket. He has played for now defunct Deccan Chargers in IPL and on one ocassion guided his team to victory with a knock of 36 runs.
7. Sanjay Raul
Raul played for India in two ODIs against Pakistan in 1998. However, he could not create an impact with his batting and managed only 8 runs in the two matches. However, he was a prolific batter for Odisha in domestic tournaments and now serves as a match refree in OCA.
8. Ranjib Biswal
The Odia cricketer is the former chairman of the Indian Premier League and the manager of the Indian cricket team during the historic 2011 World Cup. He has played for Odisha in the domestic circle and captained the India Under-19 team.