OTD| India’s star domestic cricketer Wasim Jaffer was born in 1978

Former India player Wasim Jaffer is celebrating his 46th birthday today. Jaffer is revered in the Indian domestic cricket circles for his legendary stature that he achieved because of his sheer consistency. A pure Test batter who was a delight for the cricket purists. His elegant gameplay gave him special recognition. 

Wasim Jaffer stepped into international cricket in 2000 when he was called up for the Indian Test squad for a series against South Africa. The Mumbaikar got the opportunity to make his debut on his home ground, Wankhede Stadium, in the first match of the series. His international career was not limited only to Test cricket as he also played One-Day internationals for India. Jaffer made his ODI debut on the tour to South Africa in 2006. Unfortunately, that was also his last series in limited-overs format. 

Domestic dominance but underwhelming international stint

After a debut at a young age in Test cricket, he had to wait for another couple of years to get back into the Indian team. He made his comeback on the England tour in 2002 but he was once again dropped on the account of inconsistent performances. The opener had to wait for another four years to wear the Test jersey once again. In 2006 he made his comeback in a home Test series against England. This time Jaffer accumulated runs as per expectations and continued his stay in the team. He was phenomenal against West Indies and Pakistan in successive years as he also scored two double centuries to establish his presence. However, the form dipped yet again and he had to face the ouster for one last time in 2008 which also put an end to his international career. 

Jaffer played 31 Test matches for India scoring 1944 runs at an average of 34.10. His first-class records are poles apart from his stats in international cricket. He played 260 first-class matches in his long first-class career where he scored 19410 runs at a phenomenal average of 50.67. The Mumbaikar is also the highest run-scorer in the history of the Ranji Trophy which is a testimony to his legendary stature in domestic cricket. 

Also read: Former India captain Gundappa Viswanath was born in 1949