My experience as a player in Vidarbha can help me as coach if picked, reveals Wasim Jaffer

While many veteran cricketers in Indian domestic cricket choose smaller plate teams to share their knowledge and better their career statistics, Wasim Jaffer, a giant in the domestic circuit in his own right, chose the other way around in the fag end of his career. Not only did his move to Vidarbha - a talented bunch of players with a system behind them - without charging a single professional fee, he also had a hand in them winning consecutive Ranji Trophy titles. The wins had a ripple effect in Vidarbha's whole fabric as the U-23 side won the Col CK Nayudu Trophy this year while the U-19 side reached the final for the second consecutive time, after winning the trophy in the first attempt. 

A veteran everyone adores, Jaffer’s career is a glittering one in Indian cricket. A down to earth person, with a stance and stroke to die for, made a move to Vidarbha in 2017 to be a part of the side his good friend Chandrakant Pandit was going to manage. The duo scripted a fairytale for the Maharashtrian side, with Faiz Fazal leading them. On being asked about his journey, Jaffer stated that it was immensely satisfying one for him.

“Winning four trophies in the last three years is not a small feat. So when you go into that kind of a state and you turn them into a match-winning team you get a lot of satisfaction. When you play for Mumbai you are expected to win because of the history behind them and there are so many good players playing for them and that was not the case with Vidarbha,” the now-retired Jaffer concluded.