New Delhi. Former India all-rounder Ajay Jadeja has refused to take any money for the services he provided to Afghanistan as a mentor during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. This information was given by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the country’s cricket board, Naseeb Khan. Jadeja joined the Afghanistan team as a mentor just before the World Cup played in India. Afghanistan defeated former champions England and Pakistan as well as Bangladesh in this World Cup.
However, Australia’s Glenn Maxwell had shattered the team’s dream of reaching the semi-finals by scoring a double century. A top official of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said that he had ‘insisted’ on this many times but every time Jadeja rejected his proposal. Khan told ‘Aryan News’, “We requested many times but Jadeja refused to take any money from the Afghanistan Cricket Board for his services during the ODI World Cup.”
According to Khan, Jadeja said, ‘If you play well, for me that is money and reward’. Jadeja has scored 5359 runs in 196 ODIs for India at an average of 37.47. This 53-year-old former player has six centuries and 30 half-centuries to his name. He has scored 576 runs in 15 Tests for the country at an average of 26.18. His highest score in Tests is 96 runs. During the World Cup, the team’s head coach Jonathan Trott also believed that with the appointment of Jadeja, the team had left behind the tag of a ‘weak team’ apart from performing brilliantly in the tournament.
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 15, 2024, 10:41 IST