Wasim Jaffer
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Career
Highlights
Gaurav Gupta, March 8, 2020: The Times of India
Wasim Jaffer, former India opener and domestic cricket colossus, announced his retirement from all forms of the game, bringing to end a 24-yearold First Class career.
In a largely unfulfilled Test career — he easily had the potential to play 100 Tests— Jaffer played 31 games, in which he scored 1944 runs@34.10, including five hundreds and 11 fifties. “My father wanted one of his sons to represent India and I feel proud to have fulfilled his dream. After all these years in cricket, it is time to move on. But just like the redball format which is very dear to me, it’s the end of only the first innings. I am looking forward to the second innings in any capacity, be it in coaching, commentary etc, as long as I stay involved with the game as this game has given me so much,” Jaffer said in his retirement statement.
It was after being dumped for good from the Indian team post the 2008 series against South Africa that Jaffer found his true calling, as a batsman who eventually finished as the highest run-scorer in the history of the Ranji Trophy, becoming the first to cross the 12,000-run mark in it.
An incredible example of his longevity in the game came in March 2018, when he slammed 286 for Vidarbha against Rest of India in the Irani Cup clash at Nagpur, becoming the first Indian batsman to score a double hundred at the age of 40. It’s also the highest-ever score in the Irani Cup.
The Mumbai stalwart is already the batting coach of Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, and the batting consultant of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). In his statement, Jaffer thanked those who helped him shape his career. “A special thanks to all my coaches, right from my school days to professional cricket, for helping me polish my skills. A heartfelt thanks to the selectors who showed faith in me,” he said.
As a captain, the 42-yearold led Mumbai to its 38th and 39th Ranji title. When everyone gave up on him in Mumbai, he moved to Vidarbha in the twilight of his career, and was a part of a team which won the Ranji Trophy twice in his last three seasons. “My gratitude to all the captains I played under and all my colleagues from whom I learnt so much about the game and shared some lifelong memories,” he said in his statement. Last year, he became the first player in Indian cricket to feature in 150 Ranji Trophy matches. After scoring heavily in domestic cricket in the 2011-12 season Jaffer was tipped to return to the Indian team, but, unfortunately for him, the selectors preferred Murali Vijay instead.
“I’d like to also thank my family — my parents and brothers for encouraging me to pursue the sport as a profession and my wife, who left the cosy life of England to create a lovely home for our children and me,” Jaffer said. “Among the moments I will cherish the most is getting my India Test cap, scoring 202 Vs Pakistan, 212 vs West Indies and winning a Test series in West Indies and England in 2006-07. I am honoured to have shared the dressing room with the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, and MS Dhoni to name a few,” he said.
Like many budding cricketers growing up in the 90s, Tendulkar was Jaffer’s hero. “What can I say about Sachin? I could go on and on about him. He was my role model. I feel really blessed to have watched him play from such close quarters. In my opinion he was one of the best players of that era along with Brian Lara,” he said.
Nov 2015: First to get 10,000 Ranji runs
Archiman Bhaduri
Ex-Mumbai man is first to 10,000 Ranji trophy runs
The moment Wasim Jaffer hit a boundary off Bengal pacer Veer Pratap Singh on Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy Group ` A' match in Nov 2015, the entire Vidarbha team stood up to applaud his unique feat.
The Vidarbha opener walked into the record books by becoming the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs in Ranji Trophy , the country's premier first-class domestic tournament. The former India and Mumbai opener is also the leading run-getter in Duleep Trophy and the Irani Cup.True to his style, the unassuming Jaffer maintained his composure, refusing to get carried away by the occasion. Jaffer, who needed just seven runs to scale Mount 10K, was dismissed by Pragyan Ojha soon after for nine. His Ranji tally now stands at 10,002.
Jaffer scored most of his runs for Mumbai, before moving to Vidarbha this season.
2018
From: March 16, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
Wasim Jaffer, achievements as in March 2018
2019/ First to play 150 Ranji matches
Wasim Jaffer becomes first Indian to play 150 Ranji matches: Veteran opener Wasim Jaffer became the first player in Indian cricket to feature in 150 Ranji matches. The 41-year-old from Maharashtra, who has been an important part of the title-winning Vidarbha team in the last two years, achieved the rare distinction during their Group A opener against Andhra Pradesh. The former India opener is now just 853 runs away from completing 20,000 runs in first-class cricket. Overall, Jaffer has played 253 first-class games, scoring 19,147 runs at an average of 51.19. He has scored 57 hundreds and 88 fifties with 314 being his highest score.
2020, Jan: Jaffer first batsman to amass 12k runs
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has now added another feather to his cap as he became the first batsman to register 12,000 runs in Ranji Trophy. Jaffer achieved the milestone in the ongoing Ranji tie between Vidarbha and Kerala. Jaffer who started off with Mumbai in first-class cricket now plays for Vidarbha. Before the start of the 2019-20, Jaffer had amassed 11,775 runs in the premier domestic tournament.
Jaffer made his debut in the domestic circuit in the 1996-97 season and has broken multiple records. He had become the first cricketer in the history of the tournament to go past 11,000 runs in 2018. Featuring for India, Jaffer played 31 Tests, accumulating 1944 runs, averaging 34.10 and also hit five centuries and 11 half-centuries. IANS
