Who is Ajay Jadeja, former cricketer and now India’s newest royal?
Jadeja comes from a family with a rich cricketing legacy with major championships named after his ancestors
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A former Indian cricketer, whose career was overshadowed by accusations of match fixing, was declared the heir to the throne of Jamnagar, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
Ajay Jadeja, 53, will now be the new Jam Saheb, or royal, of Nawanagar, the former princely state which is now known as Jamnagar.
In a statement released on 12 October, the current titular royal Jam Saheb Maharaja Shatrusalyasinhji Digvijaysinhji Jadeja said: “Today, on Dussehra, I am equally happy, as I have found a resolution to one of my dilemmas thanks to Ajay Jadeja, who has accepted to be my heir.”
“Ajay Jadeja taking up the responsibility of serving the people of Jamnagar is truly a boon for its people. I express my sincere gratitude to him.”
Jadeja comes from a family with a rich legacy in cricket; the annual first-class championship of India, the Ranji Trophy, is named after his great grand uncle Ranjitsinh, who has been called the “Father of Indian Cricket”. Ranjitsinh Jadeja ruled Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933.
Ajay Jadeja’s grand uncle Duleepsinh, who had the Duleep Trophy, one of India’s premier first class cricket competitions, named after him.
The current Jam Saheb, Maharaja Shatrusalyasinhji, was also a cricketer and captained Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy in 1966-67 and served as the head of the Saurashtra Cricket Association. He became the titular head of Nawanagar on 3 February, 1966, after the death of his father.
According to Indian media reports, Jadeja’s new status takes his net worth to Rs 14.5bn (£132.6m). With this, he surpasses Virat Kohli, whose net worth is estimated at Rs10 bn (£91.44m).
Jadeja was once regarded as one of India’s best fielders and played 196 One Day International games and 15 Test matches between 1992 and 2000. In his international career, Jadeja scored 6,000 runs with six centuries and 30 half-centuries in the 50-over format.
However, his cricket career was overshadowed by the lifetime ban he received in 2000 for alleged match fixing. The ban was later relaxed to a five-year suspension by the Delhi High Court, but Jadeja began to dabble in other industries. He turned to cricket commentary, and even tried his hand at acting in Bollywood.
While royalty no longer exists in democratic India, several royal families still own heritage properties and land, and their former titles.
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