Bhubaneswar: His name is always uttered with reverence in the domestic cricket circle even though he did not have a very glittering international career playing only 31 Tests and two ODIs. But former Mumbai and India opener Wasim Jaffer still continues to be a name to reckon with in Indian cricket.
The opener even at 41 still has the same appetite for runs that he had when he started his career in the 1996-97 season. Jaffer became the first Indian batsman to amass 12,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy during the Vidarbha-Kerala game. Jaffer now plays as a professional for Vidarbha and coming into the game against Kerala his tally stood at 11,981 runs.
Vidarbha lost their first wicket with only four runs on board. Jaffer coming in at No. 3 duly completed the 19 runs to reach 12,000 runs in Ranji Trophy. He fell after scoring 57, which incidentally is his 90th half century.
Overall in a first class career spanning more than two decades, Jaffer has scored 19,353 runs in three, four and five-day matches. In addition to his 90 half centuries he has reached the three-figure mark 57 times. He also has five Test centuries. The last time he donned national colours was during the 2008 Test series against South Africa.
Earlier in the season, Jaffer had become the first cricketer to play 150 games, a feat which no other player has achieved.
It is only for these reasons that Jaffer is considered a legend in domestic cricket. Make no mistake – he is one cricketer who has dominated the domestic scene, very few have been able to do.
PNN