But things have turned difficult for Ojha as he struggles to command a place in the playing XI. The unexpected emergence of Ravindra Jadeja as a left-arm spinner has only made it tougher for him.
Even on the first day of the fourth Test at the Kotla, it was Jadeja who posed more questions to Australians than Ojha on a pitch that turned throughout the day.
In his fledgling Test career, Jadeja has so far picked up 22 wickets at an average of 21.45 (including the two he took on Friday).
Bowling in his third Test since Jadeja made his debut against England last December in Nagpur, Ojha has taken five wickets at an average of 70.40. With Harbhajan also not coming up with convincing performances, the race for the second spinner's spot has certainly heated up.
Former India left-arm spinner Maninder Singh believes Ojha hasn't been up to it mentally. "There are people who respond to pressure better. For example, Ashwin has stepped up his game when the selectors brought in Harbhajan. But it seems Ojha has gone down on confidence with Jadeja doing well in his absence in the first two Tests," Maninder told TOI.
"Even in the England series, he started off well with nine wickets in the first Test and then went off the boil. His strike rate suffered when the England batsmen started dominating," he added.
On current form, Maninder feels Jadeja looks a better bet but feels none of the two can be a certainty as the second spinner.
"There are no certainties for that job as India are going to play on much truer pitches abroad. Harbhajan only made it into the team because Ashwin didn't perform well against England. He needs to work 10 times harder than what he has done so far. The selectors need options and are moving in the right direction," he added while saying that Jadeja can stake a claim overseas only if he improves his batting significantly.
Another former India spinner, Erapalli Prasanna stresses that Ojha is missing his line and length too often.
"As luck would have it for Jadeja, Ojha has been inconsistent with his line and length. And Jadeja's accuracy has helped him a lot. At the moment, I see them as equals. Only how they perform in overseas conditions will determine who the better prospect is," Prasanna opined.
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