Ajay Jadeja refused payment for mentoring the Afghanistan cricket team during the 2023 ODI World Cup. The CEO of Afghanistan Cricket Board Naseeb Khan clarified that they offered payment but Jadeja said his payment would be the team performing well.
Hashmatullah Shahidi led Afghanistan performed admirably at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. They finished sixth in the points standings with winning four of their nine league games. In addition to defeating the Netherlands by seven wickets, they also stunned England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka at the ICC event.
Naseeb Khan on Ajay Jadeja
Along with the players Jadeja also received praises for his role in the overall good performance of the team.
The CEO of the board also spoke about Jadeja not taking any money in exchange for his mentorship.
He spoke to Ariana News,
“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’.”
Afghanistan was very close to a win against Australia if only Maxwell’s lightning double hundred did not come in between.
Cricket is the Way to Redemption for Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja was one the biggest names in cricket in the 1990s but his career abruptly ended in 2000 due to a five-year ban over an allegation of him being a part of match-fixing.
During his international career, Jadeja played 196 ODIs with 5,359 runs at an average of 37.47, including six hundreds and 30 fifties. He also played 15 Tests for India scoring 576 runs at an average of 26.18, including a high of 96.
Jadeja was appointed as a mentor for team Afghanistan before the 2023 ODI World Cup.