From many brilliant records in cricket history to match fixing, know how was the career of 'Maharaj' Ajay Jadeja?

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career: Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja has been declared the next Jam Saheb of Jamnagar. Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar confirmed this in a statement. This announcement created a stir on social media platforms and Jadeja came into discussion. Let's take a look at Ajay Jadeja's playing career for India and the records associated with his name.

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career (First-Class)

Let us tell you that Ajay Jadeja made his first-class debut during the 1988/89 season. Jadeja, a right-handed batsman, played 111 first-class matches and scored 8100 runs at an average of 54.00. He scored 20 centuries and 40 half-centuries during his first-class career and played for teams like Delhi, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Jadeja played his last first-class match for Haryana in November 2013 against Vidarbha in Nagpur. A right-arm medium pace bowler, Jadeja took 54 wickets in his first-class career.

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career (List A)

Former cricketer Ajay Jadeja also made his List A debut during the 1988–89 season. He scored 8304 runs in 291 List A games at an average of 37.91 and scored 11 centuries and 48 half-centuries, with a personal best of 119. He also took 49 wickets at an average of 46.08 during his List A career. Jadeja played his last List A match for Rajasthan on 10 February 2006 against Madhya Pradesh.

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career (ODI)

Ajay Jadeja made his ODI debut for India on February 28, 1992 against Sri Lanka in Mackay. It was a World Cup game and the match was washed out due to persistent drizzle. Jadeja represented India in 196 ODIs and scored 5359 runs at an average of 37.47 and a strike rate of 69.79. He also scored six centuries and 30 half-centuries in ODIs. He scored two centuries each against Australia and Sri Lanka and one century each against West Indies and Zimbabwe. He took 20 wickets during his ODI career, including his career best spell of 3/3 against England at Sharjah on April 9, 1999.

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career (Test)

Veteran Ajay Jadeja made his Test debut after making his ODI debut for India. His Test debut came in November 1992 against South Africa in Durban. He played 15 Tests during his career and scored 576 runs at an average of 26.18, including four half-centuries. His Test career did not really take off because he was not able to take full advantage of the opportunities that came his way. The last Test of his career was also against the Proteas in February 2000 and India lost the match by four wickets at the Wankhede Stadium.

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career (Records)

1. Ajay Jadeja is one of the very few international cricketers to have scored 5000 ODI runs and made 50 fielding dismissals.
2. Ajay Jadeja is one of the 13 players who have scored more than 5000 runs in ODIs for India.

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career (Controversy)

Ajay Jadeja was banned for 5 years in December 2000 after he was found involved in match-fixing in the CBI investigation. Jadeja protested the ban but in November 2004 the Delhi High Court rejected his petition to play international cricket for India. He was then given permission to play domestic cricket by a division bench.

Ajay Jadeja Cricket Career (Coaching)

It is noteworthy that after his ups and downs cricket career, in September 2023, Ajay Jadeja was appointed assistant coach/mentor of Afghanistan men's cricket team for the ODI World Cup to be held in India. The Afghan team enjoyed a successful run during the tournament, as they defeated defending champions England and Pakistan for the first time in ODIs. After this, Ajay also started getting the credit for all these victories.