Ajay Jadeja refused to take money for serving as Afghanistan’s team mentor: ACB CEO Naseeb

New Delhi, June 15

Former India star Ajay Jadeja, who played a key role in Afghanistan’s magnificent run of wins over cricketing heavyweights in last year’s ODI World Cup as team mentor, refused to take any money for the services rendered, said the chief executive officer of the country’s cricket board, Naseeb Khan.

The top official of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said they “insisted multiple times” but Jadeja turned down their offer each time.

“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’,” Khan was quoted as saying by Ariana News.

Recruited just before the start of the mega tournament in India, Jadeja was part of the think tank as Afghanistan went on to shock former world champions England and Pakistan and a strong Bangladesh before Glenn Maxwell’s astonishing double hundred dashed their hopes of a semifinals berth.

Jadeja, 53, has represented India in 196 One-Day Internationals in his career, scoring 5,359 runs at 37.47 with six hundred and 30 fifties.

He has also played 15 Test matches for India from 1992 to 2000, scoring 576 runs at 26.18 with four half centuries to his name and a best of 96.

At the time, head coach Jonathan Trott believed that Afghanistan’s seminal performance in the tournament that helped them toss away the ‘minnows’ tag had a lot to do with the appointment of Jadeja as their mentor.