Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja played a pivotal role in Afghanistan’s dream run in the ICC ODI World Cup last year. The former Indian all-rounder was roped in as the mentor of the team in the showpiece event. Under his guidance, the Atlans put up a commendable performance, getting the better of heavyweights like Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka. Now, Naseeb Khan, the chief executive officer of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), has revealed that Jadeja did not take any money for his services during the ODI World Cup.
According to the ACB chief, the board tried to convince Ajay Jadeja multiple times but he was adamant about not accepting any payment.
“We insisted multiple times but Jadeja refused to take any money from the Afghanistan Cricket Board for his services during the 2023 ODI World Cup. His response was, ‘If you play well, that’s all the money and reward I need’,” Naseeb Khan was quoted as saying by Ariana News, as per multiple other media reports.
Afghanistan registered four wins in the league stage of the ODI World Cup held last year. They needed one more win in the last two matches to reach the semi-finals for the first time in history.
Afghanistan, however, failed to achieve it. With Glenn Maxwell notching a historic double-century, Afghanistan suffered a three-wicket defeat to Australia before South Africa beat them by five wickets in the last league fixture held in Ahmedabad.
Ajay Jadeja was quite delighted after Afghanistan triumphed over a formidable Pakistan on Indian soul.
During a conversation with ex-Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, Jadeja said, “After their victory over Pakistan, the dressing room was in a celebratory mood, almost as if everyone was drunk without drinking. Many people asked me how it felt after the match. I explained that if there’s a tenfold rivalry in Pakistan-India matches, it’s a hundredfold in Pakistan-Afghanistan games.”
Ajay Jadeja’s rich experience in white-ball cricket helped the Afghanistan players understand the conditions and strategise accordingly. Jadeja represented India in 196 ODIs and 15 Tests and aggregated 5359 and 576 runs respectively.
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