Ajay Jadeja, a protégé of Haryana senior Kapil Dev and a descendant of Ranji and Duleep, was a mercurial cricketer. He was a regular member of the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000.
A fantastic strokeplayer who could be unstoppable in ODIs, he was also a rather useful medium-pacer and one of the best ever fielders produced by the country. Added to it was the rakishly infectious smile he wore through every moment that he was out there.
| Bio | |
|---|---|
| Profession | Former Indian Cricketer |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 178 cm |
| in meters- 1.78 m | |
| in Feet Inches- 5’ 10” | |
| Weight (approx.) | in Kilograms- 72 kg |
| in Pounds- 159 lbs | |
| Body Measurements (approx.) | - Chest: 40 Inches |
| - Waist: 36 Inches | |
| - Biceps: 14 Inches | |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Grey |
| Cricket | |
| International Debut | Test- 13 November 1992 vs South Africa at Durban |
| ODI- 28 February 1992 vs Sri Lanka at Mackay | |
| International Retirement | Test- 24 February 2000 vs South Africa at Mumbai |
| ODI- 3 June 2000 vs Pakistan at Dhaka | |
| Coach/Mentor | Mr. Gurcharan Singh, Kapil Dev |
| Domestic/State Team | Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI |
| Nature on field | Aggressive |
| Likes to play against | Pakistan |
| Favourite Shot/ball | Pull and Hook |
| Records (main ones) | • For the 4th and 5th wicket, Jadeja along-with Mohammed Azharuddin, holds the record for the highest ODI partnership. |
| Career Turning Point | When he knocked 45 runs off 25 balls in the 1996 Cricket World Cup against Pakistan. |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 1971-02-01 |
| Age (as in 2019) | 48 Years |
| Birth Place | Jamnagar, Gujarat, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Aquarius |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Jamnagar, Gujarat, India |
| School | Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, |
| Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi | |
| College | Not Known |
| Educational Qualifications | Not Known |
| Family | Father- Daulatsinh Jadeja |
| Mother- Gyanba Jadeja (a Malayalee from the Allepey district of Kerala) | |
| Brother- N/A | |
| Sister- N/A | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Hobbies | Learning different languages, Playing Golf, Dancing |
| Controversies | • He was banned for five years to play any format of official cricket for match-fixing allegations. |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Ground | Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore |
| Favourite Cricketer | Kapil Dev |
| Girls, Family & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affair/Girlfriend | Madhuri Dixit (Actress) |
| Wife/Spouse | Aditi Jaitley - Daughter of the former Samata Part President Jaya Jaitly (married 2000) |
| Children | |
| Son- Aiman | |
| Daughter- Ameera |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Ajay Jadeja
- Does Ajay Jadeja smoke?: No
- Does Ajay Jadeja drink alcohol?: Yes
- Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy are named after his relatives, K. S. Ranjitsinhji and K. S. Duleepsinhji respectively.
- During his tenure in the Indian Cricket Team, he was considered as one of the best fielders of his time.
- His most memorable match was when he blasted 45 runs off 25 balls in a very crucial quarter final match against Pakistan during the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
- Once, he took 3 wickets for 3 runs in a single over against England in a match at the Sharjah.
- He has captained India in 13 ODI matches.
- In 2003, he acted in a movie, “Khel” and in 2009; he appeared in another movie, “Pal Pal Dil Ke Saath”.
- During the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, Jadeja worked for Zee News as a cricket anchor. Later, he also worked with NDTV India and NDTV 24*7 as a cricket analyst.
- In the first season of a celebrity dance show, “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa”, he participated as a contestant.
- In the film, “Kai Po Che”, Jadeja did a cameo as himself.
- He was appointed as the coach of Delhi Cricket Team in the year 2015.
