Ajaysinhji Jadeja ( born 1 February 1971), known as Ajay Jadeja, is an Indian former professional
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er. He was a regular member of the
Indian cricket team
The India men's national cricket team, also known as Men in Blue, represents India in international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is a full member nation of the International Cricket Council with T ...
in the
One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(ODI) format between 1992 and 2000. He played fifteen
Test matches and 196 ODIs for India. He also occasionally captained the India national cricket team. He was part of the Indian squad which won the
1995 Asia Cup. Presently, Jadeja is working with the
Afghanistan cricket team
The Afghanistan men's national cricket team (, ) represents Afghanistan in international cricket. It is a full Member of the International Cricket Council with Test cricket, Test, One-Day International and T20 International status.
Cricket h ...
as the team mentor.
Due to his alleged involvement in match fixing, the
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...
(BCCI) life banned him from cricket on 3 June 2000; later the BCCI reduced the to five years. On 27 January 2003, a Delhi court lifted the ban. However, Jadeja was not able to play again for Indian cricket team.
After he quit playing cricket, he worked as coach of the
Delhi cricket team
The Delhi cricket team is a first-class cricket team based in Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Y ...
around 2015. In the 2000s he acted in few Bollywood movies, appeared as contestant in dance reality show ''
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' and worked as pundit for
SET Max,
AajTak,
NDTV India etc. various times.
Personal life
Jadeja was born into an erstwhile
Nawanagar royal family. which has a cricketing pedigree. His relatives include
K. S. Ranjitsinhji, after whom the
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...
is named, and
K. S. Duleepsinhji, for whom the
Duleep Trophy is named. Jadeja's Father
Daulatsinhji Jadeja was a 3 time Member of Parliament from Jamnagar Loksabha. His mother is a native of
Alappuzha
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
in
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. Jadeja is married to Aditi Jaitly, the daughter of
Jaya Jaitly and the couple have two children, and Ameera.
He began his schooling at the
Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi. He was subsequently sent to a
Rajkumar College in
Rajkot
Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...
. He did not like boarding school, and in a particular year he ran away from there 13 times. He finally settled down at the
Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi, from where he completed his schooling. He met Aditi Jaitly here. He later went for higher studies to
Hindu College, Delhi.
In October 2024, Jadeja was declared the next
Jam Saheb of
Nawanagar (heir to the Jamnagar royal throne), also known as Jamnagar, by the current Jam Saheb of Nawanagar Shatrusalyasinhji Digvijaysinhji Jadeja.
International career
Jadeja was a regular in the
Indian cricket team
The India men's national cricket team, also known as Men in Blue, represents India in international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is a full member nation of the International Cricket Council with T ...
between 1992 and 2000, playing 15
Test matches and 196
One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
s. He was regarded as one of the best fielders in the Indian team in his time. One of his most memorable innings was his cameo in the
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 for sponsorship reasons, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The tournament wa ...
quarter-final In
Bengaluru
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
against arch rivals
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
when he scored 45 off 25 balls, including 40 from the final two overs by
Waqar Younis. Jadeja, along with
Mohammed Azharuddin, holds the
record for the highest one-day partnership 4th and 5th wicket, set against
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
respectively. Jadeja was also renowned for his remarkable fielding and was considered one of the safest pair of hands in the Indian team during his tenure.
Another memorable occasion of his career was taking 3 wickets for 3 runs in 1 over against England in
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...
to win the match for India. Jadeja has captained India in 13 One-day matches. One of favorite hunting grounds was the
Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the venue of the quarter-final against Pakistan in the 1996 World Cup. The last time Jadeja played in a One Day International was against Pakistan in the Pepsi Asia Cup on 3 June 2000. He scored 93 in a game that India eventually lost. Jadeja was the top scorer hitting 8 fours and 4 sixes.
Match-fixing scandal
Jadeja's cricketing achievements were later overshadowed by a 5-year ban for match-fixing. The ban was later removed by the Delhi High Court on 27 January 2003, making Jadeja eligible to play domestic and international cricket. Jadeja had approached the Delhi High Court on 2 February 2001, challenging the
BCCI order imposing the five-year ban on the basis of the K. Madhavan Committee recommendations. He was back playing Ranji in 2003.
After cricket
In 2015, Jadeja was appointed as the main coach for
Delhi cricket team
The Delhi cricket team is a first-class cricket team based in Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Y ...
but he resigned from the post.
He worked as a cricket commentator and pundit for SET Max during number of
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
seasons in the
Extra Innings
Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie.
Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...
show. He has also worked as cricket expert- analyst for news channels such as
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy.
NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...
,
Aajtak, Cricbuzz and more.
In September 2023,
Afghanistan Cricket Board
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB; , ; formerly Afghanistan Cricket Federation) is the official governing body of cricket in Afghanistan. It is Afghanistan's representative at the International Cricket Council (ICC) and was an associate member ...
appointed Ajay Jadeja as Afghanistan's assistant coach/mentor for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. Afghanistan went on to win four matches in the tournament, including wins against giants like England and Pakistan as well as a shockingly narrow game against the year's winners, Australia, a stark difference from their winless campaign in 2019. Numerous ex-cricketers have suggested that their newfound victories were largely credited to Jadeja's influence and the Afghanistan team also expressed gratitude for the impact he had on them. Jadeja also worked as a Batting Coach for
MI Emirates in
ILT20 2023.
Filmography
Jadeja acted in the 2003 movie ''
Khel'' with
Sunny Deol and
Sunil Shetty
Suniel Shetty (born Sunil V. Shetty; 11 August 1961) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, and entrepreneur, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, with appearances in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Nicknamed as Anna, Shetty ha ...
. He also acted in the 2009 movie, ''
Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat'', directed by V.K.Kumar.
Jadeja was a contestant on the celebrity dance show ''
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' in its first season. He has been appeared on the TV show ''
Comedy Circus,
The Great Indian Laughter Challenge
''The Great Indian Laughter Challenge'' is an Indian Reality television, reality stand-up comedy series produced by Endemol, Endemol India. The first four seasons aired on STAR One from 15 June 2005 to 26 September 2008.
The show's fifth season ...
'' as a guest.
He did a cameo in
Abhishek Kapoor's film
Kai Po Che! acting as himself in a cricket commentator role.
References
Ajay Jadeja, Sanjeev Kapoor to put on their dancing shoes on SonyI admire the way Ajay deals with everything: Aditi Jaitly
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jadeja, Ajay
Indian cricketers
1971 births
Living people
India Test cricketers
Indian cricket captains
India One Day International cricketers
Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Delhi cricketers
Haryana cricketers
Jammu and Kashmir cricketers
North Zone cricketers
Rajasthan cricketers
Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Indian cricket commentators
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
People from Jamnagar
Cricketers from Gujarat
Gujarati sportspeople
Indian cricket coaches
Cricketers banned for corruption
Commonwealth Games competitors for India
Cricketers from Delhi