Wasim Jaffer, Test opener and domestic king, retires
Former Mumbai batsman calls it a day after being part of 10 Ranji winning teams
MUMBAI : Former India opener and domestic cricket stalwart, Wasim Jaffer, announced his retirement from all cricket here on Saturday. The 42-year-old was part of 10 Ranji Trophy-winning sides, eight with Mumbai and the last two with Vidarbha.
Jaffer holds a slew of domestic records, including Ranji appearances (156), aggregate (12,038 runs), most centuries (40) and catches (200). He helped Vidarbha win back-to-back titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19, but the team failed to qualify for the knockout stage this time with the batsman nursing a knee problem as well.
The tall batsman played 31 Tests between 2000 and 2008—he made his debut against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium in 2000—scoring 1,944 runs at an average of 34.01 with five centuries and 11 half-centuries.
Jaffer, known for his resolve and a robust batting technique, hit his highest Test score of 212 against West Indies at St John’s, Antigua in 2006. The same year Jaffer played both his ODIs, against South Africa. He played a season in IPL, for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He became the first cricketer to play 150 Ranji matches in December 2019, and became the only Ranji batsman to complete the 12,000-run mark two months later.
Of his record Ranji aggregate, 1,037 runs in 15 innings at an exemplary average of 69.13 came for Vidarbha in their victorious 2018-19 campaign.
He is the only batsman to score 1,000 plus runs in two seasons, the previous effort having come in 2008-9.
Hailed for his longevity—he made his first-class debut in 1996-97—Jaffer played 260 firstclass matches, scoring 19,410 runs at an average of 50.67 (57x100, 91x50) with his highest of 314* coming for Mumbai against Saurashtra in his debut season.
“A special thanks to all my coaches, right from my school days to professional cricket, for helping me polish my skills,” Jaffer said in a statement announcing his retirement. “Among moments I will cherish the most is getting my India Test cap, scoring 202 vs Pakistan, 212 vs West Indies and winning the Test series in West Indies and England in 2006-07.
“A heartfelt thanks to the selectors who showed faith in me. 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. I would also like to thank all the support staff who were a constant pillar of support in my long journey. Thank you to the BCCI, Mumbai Cricket Association and Vidarbha Cricket Association for giving me the opportunity to represent them,” he said.
“My longest association was with the Mumbai team and it’s here that I learned about the khadoos (gritty) nature of cricket that Mumbai players are known for,” said Jaffer, who also captained Mumbai to two Ranji titles.
“Represented the 41-time Ranji champions from my under-16 days till 2014. Sanjay Manjrekar was my first captain. I feel privileged to have shared the Mumbai dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Zaheer Khan, Amol Muzumdar, Nilesh Kulkarni, to name few. After becoming the captain in 2008, I hope I passed on some legacy to Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare and others,” he said.
Jaffer added, “I would also like to thank Chandrakant Pandit for showing faith in me when no team showed any interest to have me as a professional for 2017-18 season. It is because of him that I got a chance to play for Vidarbha again and create history of winning a Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup twice.”
“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 red-ball 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,” he said.
He will be an assistant coach with Kings XI Punjab in the upcoming IPL season.