Coach Cleared of Match-Fixing Leads Team to Historic Win

When Jammu and Kashmir beat Bengal to reach their first-ever Ranji Trophy final, the victorious players hoisted their coach onto their shoulders and chanted his name. For Ajay Sharma, who spent 15 years being erased from cricket after match-fixing allegations, the moment marked an unlikely rebirth.

"I would say this is the rebirth of Ajay Sharma," the 61-year-old former Delhi cricketer told The Indian Express. A Delhi court cleared him of all charges in 2014, but the damage to his reputation had already been done.

The years of exile left deep scars. Sharma believes his older son Manan faced obstacles in pursuing an India career because of his father's tainted name, and people who once knew him stopped calling entirely.

When Mithun Manhas, now BCCI president, offered Sharma the J&K coaching job four years ago, he actually laughed at the proposal. "Once you play for Delhi alongside Test cricketers, you feel you're operating at a different level," Sharma recalls from that phone call during a Thailand holiday.

But something shifted when Manhas called again. Sharma took the job and immediately clashed with players who preferred IPL dreams over first-class cricket discipline.

His first season nearly ended in disaster. Players called him the "headmaster coach" in written feedback forms, with only two or three of twenty speaking in his favor.

The turning point came from his wife's simple advice: stop comparing these young players to established cricketers and treat them like the kids they are. Sharma also sought counsel from a retired brigadier and softened his approach entirely.

Why This Inspires

Sharma's transformation mirrors J&K cricket's own rise from perennial underdogs to championship contenders. When star player Abdul Samad threw away his wicket carelessly, Sharma dropped him for the next match, sending a clear message about accountability.

The gesture worked because Sharma balanced it with honesty, telling Samad he was one of the cleanest hitters in domestic cricket but needed to protect his average. Samad listened and changed his approach.

Away victories against powerhouse teams like Mumbai, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh announced to India that J&K was no longer a soft touch. The team that nobody took seriously now commands respect across the country.

For Sharma, the players' trust means everything after years when nobody would speak his name. "Those who never called or messaged for so many years are reaching out now," he says, adding that he holds no bitterness, only gratitude.

The coach who was once pushed away by his own players now hears them chant "bhaiyon mein bhai kaisa ho, Ajju bhai jaisa ho" (among brothers, who's the best? Our Ajju bhai). That journey from outcast to beloved mentor captures what redemption really looks like when you're willing to change.