Mumbai, Nov 5: Afghanistan have benefitted immensely with the presence of former India all-rounder Ajay Jadeja during their World Cup campaign as the Asian team, placed at the sixth spot and seeking a semifinals berth, gears up to take on Australia in its next game here on Tuesday.
Afghanistan have eight points from seven matches with four wins and three losses – similar to New Zealand and Pakistan who have played eight games each so far – but behind on the Net Run Rate (-0.330).
The Afghans have one extra game in hand.
Naib, who is among the reserve players having captained Afghanistan to a silver medal in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, said Jadeja’s inputs have been “unbelievable” when it comes to guiding the Afghan players.
“The results also have a lot to do with the role he has played in the backroom for us.
He guides the players and he shares his experience like any big player. Ajay bhai has played for India, he knows and can also anticipate what can happen at any stage in the game,” Naib told PTI exclusively on the sidelines of Afghanistan’s training session here on Sunday.
“While we have the entire game on our mind, he breaks it down to 10-minute plays (watching it) closely. He knows what will happen here (at the Wankhede Stadium) given the ocean (Arabian Sea) is close by (to the stadium), what will happen (in terms of conditions) during the day or the night or whether the ball will swing or not, break or not, we get a lot of ideas,” Naib said.
“Ajay sir, if I am not speaking much, the way he has been guiding our players has been unbelievable and we are enjoying his company,” he added.
Naib said to have watched a player like Jadeja playing alongside the legends of the game like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly on TV and have him in the dressing room is a benefit for the Afghanistan players.
“Whenever we sit down, he only speaks about cricket. He invariably gets cricket into any discussion that we would be having.
His presence is a big thing for us, us players were watching him on TV till recently playing with legends like Sachin Tendulkar and (Sourav) Ganguly and today he is associated with us and that has made a huge impact on our team and our cricket,” he said.Naib also heaped praise on Afghanistan’s head coach, former England player Jonathan Trott for fostering greater self-confidence among players. (PTI)
