Ajay Jadeja denies taking money, former Indian star did not accept any payment for his services

New Delhi: Ajay Jadeja played a key role as a mentor in Afghanistan’s stellar performance during the 2023 ODI World Cup and ACB CEO Naseeb Khan on Friday revealed that the former Indian star did not accept any payment for his services.

Khan informed that the ACB made several attempts to compensate Jadeja, but he turned down their offer each time.

“We insisted several times, but Jadeja refused to accept any money from the Afghanistan Cricket Board for his services during the 2023 ODI World Cup. His reply was, ‘If you play well, that’s all I want as money and reward’,” Khan was quoted as saying by Ariana News.

Jadeja was roped in as a mentor just before the tournament began in India.

Under his guidance, Afghanistan pulled off notable wins against former world champions England and Pakistan as well as a strong Bangladesh team.

However, his streak came to an end after Glenn Maxwell’s extraordinary double century.

The 53-year-old Jadeja had a stellar cricketing career, playing 196 ODIs for India. He scored 5,359 runs at an average of 37.47, including six centuries and 30 fifties.

Apart from his ODI career, Jadeja represented India in 15 Tests between 1992 and 2000, scoring 576 runs at an average of 26.18, with a highest score of 96.

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott credited Jadeja for the team’s stellar performance during the World Cup, which helped them shed the ‘small’ tag.