India men's cricket team coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday condoled the death of former Saurashtra cricketer and BCCI referee Rajendrasinh Jadeja. Rajendrasinh died on Sunday morning after fighting a battle against COVID-19. He was 66 years old. "Really sad to lose a colleague from Nirlons Mumbai and West Zone and a friend for many years, Raju Jadeja due to COVID complications. A gentleman to the core. May his soul rest in peace... Om Shanti," tweeted Shastri. Rajendrasinhji was the finest right-arm medium pacer and remarkable all-rounder. He played between 1974-75 to 1986-87 giving many outstanding performances.
Niranjan Shah, former secretary of BCCI and SCA conveyed heartfelt sympathies and said, "Rajendrasinh Jadeja was the man with quality, style, ethics, and great cricketing capabilities. His dedication and contribution to Cricket shall be remembered forever."
He featured in 50 first-class matches and 11 List A matches, taking 134 wickets in first class matches and 14 in List A. He had scored 1536 runs in first-class matches and 104 in List A.
"It is an immense loss to the world of Cricket. Rajendra Sir was one of the finest men I have met. I am fortunate to play many matches having him as our head coach, manager and Mentor," said Jaydev Shah, President of SCA.
Not only an outstanding cricketer, he was one of the finest coaches and match referees. He served as BCCI's official Referee in 53 first-Class matches, 18 List A matches, and 34 T20 matches.
He also served as selector, coach and team manager of Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA). His in-depth knowledge of cricket and passion for the game were indeed very remarkable.