90's new age player: Ajay Jadeja
"An exuberant batsman and an incorrigible charmer off the field" is an apt description for the former Delhi and Indian middle order batsman Ajay Jadeja. With his ability to hit big shots towards the end of the innings, energetic running between the wickets, superb fielding and a winning smile, Jadeja not only won matches for India but also won the hearts of Indian fans.
He was a main stay of the Indian batting order for almost eight years along side former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin. The two were involved in a lot of match winning partnerships and still hold the record for the highest partnership in one-day internationals for 4th and 5th wicket, set against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka respectively. Jadeja made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on 28th February 1992 and made his test debut later that year on 13th November against South Africa. He represented India in 196 one-day Internationals and 15 test matches before he was banned by BCCI after findings in CBI enquiry for match fixing along with Mohammad Azharuddin, Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Sharma. The incident was quoted as a 'sad day' by then BCCI chief A.C. Muthiah.
Initially the ban was put in 2000 for 5 years and restricted Jadeja to appear in any of the domestic or International matches but was later removed on 27th January 2003 making him eligible to play both domestic as well as international cricket. He took on the dual role of Rajasthan Ranji Team's captain and coach in 2005 and led them for two successful seasons.
Jadeja earned the reputation of a big hitting finisher in 1990s winning some really important matches for India and giving important contributions in others. One of the memorable moment of his career came during the 1996 World Cup when India played their quarter-final match against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy stadium. Jadeja blasted 45 runs from 25 balls, 40 of which came in the last two overs bowled by Waqar Younis. He ended with 5359 runs from 196 matches with a healthy average of 37.47 and a strike rate of 69.80. These numbers could be considered great given that he batted in the lower middle order in most of the matches he played. He also picked up 20 wickets and gave an outstanding performance against England in Sharjah where he picked up 3 wickets for 3 runs in one over and won the match for India.
However, he had a disappointing test career where he could manage only 576 runs from 15 matches with an average of 26.18. His inability to play the fast bowlers in seam friendly conditions limited his test career.
One thing that sets Jadeja apart from the other players of his era was his fielding. Jadeja was the first world-class fielder India ever produced and probably the best one too. He emerged at a time when fielding was considered as one of the weakest points of India. Jadeja was a live wire on the field and took 59 catches in his career along with a few run outs. He made the point position his own and was terrific throughout his career. India has seen players like Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli in the last few years but Jadeja's contribution came at a time when grounds were under prepared and players used to think twice before diving for the ball.
He also led India in 13 ODIs and one could only imagine what heights he could have achieved if his career was not halted by the fixing scandal.