Wasim Jaffer named Uttarakhand’s new head coach for 2020-21 domestic season

06/23/2020

Earlier on Tuesday, Cricket Association of Uttarakhand confirmed that Wasim Jaffer will take over as the new head coach of the Uttarakhand men’s team for the upcoming season. On the other hand, Jaffer, too, expressed his happiness over the new role as a head coach, after his retirement in March.

After making their debut in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season in the Plate Group, Uttarakhand rose to Elite Group C in the last edition of the tournament under the leadership of Tanmay Srivastava, after the side reached the quarter-final of the 2018/19 season of the tournament. Following the two fruitful seasons in the competition, Cricket Association of Uttarakhand, on Tuesday, confirmed that former Vidarbha opener Wasim Jaffer has been appointed as the new head coach.

Jaffer, who is the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy history, was integral to Vidarbha's twin title wins in the same competition, in 2017-18 and 2018-19, nurturing and mentoring the young side during his stint with the side. However, the right-hander announced his retirement from all forms of cricket earlier this year and thus, now, he has been named as the head coach of the Uttarakhand cricket team. This will, incidentally, be Jaffer's first ever outing as a head coach in his cricketing career.

During his time as a batsman, in first-class cricket, Jaffer has scored a remarkable 19,410 runs at a fruitful average of 50.67. On top of that, the right-handed batsman also has 57 hundreds and 91 fifties under his tally. Last year, Uttarakhand started the season under the tutelage of Gursharan Singh, with former Delhi batsman Unmukt Chand serving as captain, but during the course of the season, owing to poor performance, the right-hander was sacked of his position, with Tanmay Srivastava taking over the reins.

"I am quite excited with the new role. I am looking forward to the challenge," Jaffer told Sportstar.