From the holy maidens of Mumbai rose a champion, a champion who has now batted his way into domestic cricket folklore. Born on 16th February 1978, the 41-year-old batsman Wasim Jaffer has had a prolific career decorated with awards and recognition. Right from the onset, he was seen with a spark in his batting ability when he scored 400 runs in an innings in a school match merely aged 15 years. This led to his entry into domestic cricket for Mumbai and it did not take him long to smash records there as well. In just his second match, he became the first ever Mumbai batsman to score a triple century away from home. Ever since the career of Wasim Jaffer has been one about shattering domestic records and winning championships.
A defensively solid batsman with a compact technique, Wasim Jaffer has achieved everything there is to achieve at the domestic level. For starters, he is the leading scorer in Ranji Trophy history with a massive 11,775 runs. The only batsman to score over 10,000 runs in the tournament. He also holds the record for most number of appearances in Ranji Trophy with 149 matches, the most recent coming in the final against Saurashtra. He has also scored the most number of hundreds in Ranji Trophy with 40 hundred, the second best being 31. The record that stands apart though is the one with a 100 per cent record in the finals. All the finals that Jaffer has played in, he has won. It makes for a baffling statistic, to say the least.
Mumbai has always been blessed with prolific runs scorers. Right from the yesteryear legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar to the recent run machines Amol Muzumdar and arguably the greatest batsman the world has ever seen Sachin Tendulkar. In the midst of all these legends, Wasim Jaffer has quietly gone on to build a career of great stature and distinction. Ever since his debut as a slightly built 18 years old, the opener has been a top run-getter for the most successful state in Ranji Trophy history. He has always been the backbone for their dominance in the most revered competition in the country. Having had his share of success with Mumbai, the batting stalwart set out for a new challenge as he switched alliances to Vidarbha during the 2015-16 season. The Vidarbha team was one of the up and coming teams during this time with a good bunch of young players and an able leader in Faiz Fazal at the helm. The amount of experience brought in by Wasim Jaffer to this side was uncountable as it led Vidarbha to a back-to-back Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup success. A success which had only previously been achieved by the great teams of Bombay and most recently, Karnataka. This triumph has only added one more feather to Jaffer’s illustrious career.
The 41 year-old has always had a hunger for runs, and this hunger does not seem to have fulfilled just yet. With his spirits and zeal, we can only expect Wasim Jaffer to turn up next year and help Vidarbha complete a three-peat of domestic titles. When he decides to bow out of the game, there is no doubting that Jaffer will be given an amazing farewell. A true legend of the domestic circuit, Wasim Jaffer’s legacy is set to stay the tests of time. Here is to Wasim Jaffer, an astute student and titan of the game.
Video: A brief about Wasim Jaffer
