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Former India captain Ajay Jadeja has been appointed the mentor of the Afghanistan cricket team for the World Cup 2023, scheduled to be played in India from October 5 to November 19.
On October 2, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) shared several pictures where Jadeja can be seen wearing Afghanistan’s support staff jersey and giving tips to star all-rounder Rashid Khan. ACB wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter):
“ACB Appointed former Indian Captain and middle-order batter Ajay Jadeja as AfghanAtalan's Mentor for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.”
Jadeja comes with a wealth of experience, having represented India in 15 Tests and 196 ODIs, including the 1996 & 1999 World Cups. As a batter, he amassed 5935 runs across formats, including six centuries and 34 fifties. The part-time medium pacer also scalped 20 wickets in ODIs.
In 2015, Jadeja served as the head coach of the Delhi cricket team. The 52-year-old is often seen working as a commentator.
Afghanistan’s first warmup game against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram was washed out due to rain on September 29. They will next play Sri Lanka in their second warmup game in Guwahati on October 3.
Afghanistan schedule and squad for World Cup 2023
Match 3: October 7 - Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, 10:30 am IST
Match 9: October 11 - India vs Afghanistan, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 2:00 pm IST
Match 13: October 15 - England vs Afghanistan, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 2:00 pm IST
Match 16: October 18 - New Zealand vs Afghanistan, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai 2:00 pm IST
Match 22: October 23 - Pakistan vs Afghanistan, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, 2:00 pm IST
Match 30: October 30 - Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, 2:00 pm IST
Match 34: November 3 - Netherlands vs Afghanistan, Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, 2:00 pm IST
Match 39: November 7 - Australia vs Afghanistan, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, 2:00 pm IST
Match 42: November 10 - South Africa vs Afghanistan, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, 2:00 pm IST
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
Click here to check out the full schedule of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
