n By Paritosh Pramanik
HE HAS inculcated the habit of winning in Vidarbha cricket. He has also converted the team of also-rans into title winners. Domestic stalwart Wasim Jaffer wants the team to continue in same way they performed in last 3-4 years.
With Jaffer in the fold, Vidarbha won two Ranji Trophies and as many Irani trophies for which even the 42-year-old batsman himself also is surprised. But Jaffer, who announced his retirement on Saturday, said he wants Vidarbha to continue their title winning acts and never lose hope.
“When I joined Vidarbha fold I had never thought that we would win a title. But the team performed really well and we won not one but two titles. I had never thought when I joined Vidarbha that I would play a Ranji Trophy final or an Irani final. I wanted to train the youngsters and pass my experience to them. But it was indeed pleasure to win two back to back titles. It was unreal for me to be honest,” Jaffer told ‘The Hitavada’ from Mumbai.
Jaffer was sure of a healthy future of Vidarbha with the age group teams performing well in past few years.
“The U-16, U-19 and U-23 teams are really doing well and I think they have great talent. I they should continue to get good coach like Chandrakant Pandit is with Ranji team. Even after Pandit, there should be someone to take the legacy forward,” felt Jaffer.
“It is very important to give these youngsters a direction. I think this is the topmost thing for Vidarbha cricket. The U-23 is playing final, the U-19 team has played final. I think the team is moving in the right direction and the same should be continued.”
Jaffer said the Ranji team should continue with the habit of winning. “Collective performance is must. At the end of the day we play to win and I think they should not forget this in future too,” said Jaffer.
The former Vidarbha cricketer said players should become a “Ziddi” cricketer.
“They should not gift their wickets. They should be “Ziddi” cricketers. They should feel gutted when they lose games and should celebrate when they register win.”
Jaffer is open to coach Vidarbha in future. “Definitely I would love to coach Vidarbha as I know many players and officials. It would be very easy for me to judge the players and officials,” Jaffer signed off.
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Wining four trophies with Wasimbhai was special: Faiz
n By Paritosh Pramanik
WINNING maiden silverware would be the best moment of life for any cricketer. But for Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal, who has won two back-to-back Ranji and Irani trophies, winning it along with First-Class Cricket’s stalwart Wasim Jaffer is the best cricketing moment of his career.
Faiz feels that the void created by Jaffer’s retirement would be difficult to fill but at the same time the Vidarbha skipper said life goes on.
“I would rate the maiden Ranji Trophy title win at Indore as my best moment with Wasimbhai. He hit those winning runs as we lifted our first Ranji title. It was really pleasing and satisfying,” said Fazal while talking to ‘The Hitavada’.
“Wining four trophies with Wasim is really praiseworthy. He is an institution in himself and his guidance has helped Vidarbha a lot. I would like to thank him for all the love and affection he has given to Vidarbha,” said Fazal.
Fazal said he was the most underrated cricketer in the country.
“Jaffer has played for India, for Mumbai and with us. But I think he should have represented the country on more occasions.
“He won a couple of titles with Mumbai and with Vidarbha. It was a great learning experience for me personally. I have learnt a lot from him, on and off the field,” said Faiz. “We are really honoured to play with Wasimbhai who shared all his experience with us which helped us in reaching this far. He was a big positive for Vidarbha. The best is we all loved his work ethics. The way he trained, the way he batted and the way he carried himself on and off the field. It was really great learning experience for all of us,” added Fazal.
“Everyone says Wasimbhai is very hardworking, elegant and God-gifted cricketer but I think that is not enough. He is what he is because of his hardwork, his work ethics and dedication. We can’t calculate for how many hours he has batted. It’s because of his hardwork he has reached this far,” remarked Fazal.
Fazal remembered how Jaffer has helped him during crucial moments of a match. “His inputs were available all the time and he always spoke for team’s benefits. He has always guided me and I think his guidance will always be beneficial for me whenever I lead Vidarbha team again. He was like a big brother for me,” said Fazal.
Fazal was aware of the void created but the skipper said that the team has learnt a lot when he was with them.
“I can’t say what will happen now after his departure. But one thing is sure that we all have learnt a lot from him. I am sure it won’t be easy for anybody to fill in his shoes but as we can see after Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli came....,” Fazal concluded.
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I always loved his commitment. I always saw him unhappy after getting out...whether on a single digit or after scoring 200 runs. He would always think why he got out? It didn’t matter for him whether he had scored 200 runs. He always used to think ‘why I got out’. He was always hungry for runs. There was no celebration even after scoring those mountain of runs. He was not satisfied at any point while batting. He always used to think that he should have continued batting in the middle.”
— Anand Jaiswal, VCA President
“Wasim has played a very big role in Vidarbha’s success. He was a big help for the youngsters and entire team both on and off the field. I wanted to inculcate that (Mumbai) culture in Vidarbha cricketers and Wasim played the role of facilitator very well. He was a bridge between the youngsters and me. He was a huge support me.”
— Chandrakant Pandit, Vidarbha coach
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