It is Wasim Jaffer's hard work that made him inspirational, admits Faiz Fazal
Faiz Fazal has revealed that apart from Wasim Jaffer's talent, it was his hard work and perseverance to put in the hard yards and strive towards success was the standout. The former also admitted to Vidarbha benefitting a lot from Jaffer's experience for the last four years, winning two titles.
Wasim Jaffer announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Saturday. He scored 19410 first-class runs at an average of 50.67. His contribution to domestic cricket has been immense. The Mumbai batsman also represented India in 31 Tests and scored 1944 runs at an average of 34.10. When this domestic giant decided to move to Vidarbha from Mumbai, the only motivation for him was to help youngsters from Vidarbha. He didn't have an ideal first season with Vidarbha and missed the next due to knee injury.
After Chandrakant Pandit joined as a head coach of Vidarbha in 2017-18, Jaffer, 42, offered his services without any professional fees. The think tank, including Pandit and VCA vice-president, understood the importance of Jaffer's presence. They knew the importance of experience and welcomed him with open arms. His experience and performance with the bat helped Vidarbha win back to back Ranji and Irani titles.
"Suddenly, they will feel that a stalwart like him is no more in their line-up. Vidarbha benefited a lot from Wasim. He is an ideal role model for the youngsters. He was never short of motivation despite being ignored by national selectors. It was lovely to have him as he helped me a lot in counselling the youngsters," said Pandit as quoted by Times of India.
Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal has benefitted a lot from Jaffer's experience for the last four years. The southpaw raved about the Ranji legend as he thought apart from talent it was Jaffer's hard work and perseverance to put in the hard yards and strive towards success was the standout.
"People say he is very elegant, very talented and God gifted but no one knows how much hard work has gone down behind this. His talent might be God gifted but he has worked very hard to maintain the standard over the years. It's inspirational for everyone. Every youngster in Vidarbha has learned something from him," said Faiz Fazal, reported Times of India.