Our friendship goes beyond cricket pitch: Rohit Sharma congratulates Ojha

As Pragyan Ojha announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Friday, batsman Rohit Sharma congratulated the player on a wonderful career and said their friendship goes beyond the cricket pitch.

"Ojhi, what a pleasure it has been to share some exciting memories whilst playing for India and Mumbai Indians. Our friendship goes way beyond the cricket pitch. Look forward to seeing you on the other side and passing on some knowledge to the next generation. @pragyanojha," Sharma tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Ojha announced his retirement from all formats of the game.

Ojha last played an international game in 2013 which was also the retirement match for Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar at the Wankhede Stadium. In the match, he managed to take ten wickets and was awarded the Player of the Match.

Taking to Twitter, he released a statement saying: "It's time I move on to the next phase of my life. The love and support of each and every individual will always remain with me and motivate me all the time."

The 33-year-old Ojha had made his international debut in 2008 against Bangladesh in Karachi. A year later, he went on to make his Test debut against Sri Lanka.

The spinner went on to play 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and six T20Is for India and finished with a total of 144 wickets in the international game.

In the longest format of the game, he managed to take 113 wickets, with the best bowling figures of 6-47.

He was last seen in action in 2018 as he played a first-class match in Dehradun. He also made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League as he played for the Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians.

He was a key member of the Deccan Chargers IPL winning team in 2009. He last played a match in the premier tournament in 2015 for the Mumbai Indians.