'Cricket is my first love': Ajay Jadeja

Smarting under a five-year suspension for his alleged role in match-fixing, former India batsman Ajay Jadeja made a foray into Bollywood with the muhurat of his debut film at Subhash Ghai's Audeus Studios, Bombay on April 26.

However, Jadeja maintained cricket would remain his first love. "Cricket has been my first love and will always be so," Jadeja said.

The former Indian middle order batsman, who is challenging the ban imposed by the Cricket Board for his alleged involvement in the betting and match fixing scandal, said that in no way was he bidding goodbye to cricket.

About the film, Jadeja said, "I am playing a character who behaves and talks the way I do in real life though I had to learn quite a bit while preparing for the role."

"Most of the people who come to films have undergone acting classes or some sort of professional training, but in my case, I have to start from the beginning and have a lot to learn," He added that though he had done ad-films, films is something very different.

"Since it is my debut film, I wanted to make sure I get a good role and was very careful while choosing. This film will be directed by Yusuf Khan, his first directorial venture, and produced by Pammi Sandhu," Jadeja said.

The film also stars Sunil Shetty, while the heroine is yet to be decided.

PTI