The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday announced the signing of former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja as its team mentor for the upcoming Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, set to be played from October 5 to November 19 in India.
Jadeja also captained India in 13 ODIs and played a total of 196 matches, becoming its eighth-highest run-getter in the format by scoring 5359 runs while averaging 37.47 with six centuries and 30 fifties against his name. He also played three World Cups for India.
He also played 15 Tests for India between 1992 and 2000, amassing 576 runs at an average of 26.18 with four hundreds and a personal best score of 96.
Jadeja, who made his first-class debut for Haryana in 1988, played 111 first-class and 291 List A games, amassing more than 8000 runs with 31 tons and 88 fifties combined from both formats of the game.
After his international career was halted by a five-year ban due to involvement in match fixing, Jadeja also tried his luck in some bollywood movies.
After his plea to play international cricket was dismissed by the Delhi High Court, Jadeja went back to play domestic cricket for Delhi and later on became captain-cum coach of the Rajasthan Ranji team.
Afghanistan, captained by Hashmatullah Shahidi, will begin its 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup campaign against Bangladesh at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on October 7 before facing hosts India at the Arun Jaitely stadium in New Delhi on October 11.