Wasim Jaffer, 40, included in Vidarbha's one-day squad

NAGPUR: Vidarbha have included 40-year-old Wasim Jaffer in their squad for the forthcoming Vijay Hazare One-day tournament scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from September 2 to October 8.
Shorter formats are generally considered to be youngsters’ games, but sources in Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) said Jaffer has been included to help the young team. “If you look at the squad, it’s full of young players.His experience will be invaluable. We have already seen how he helped our batsmen out. His inclusion will definitely help the team,” a source in VCA told TOI on condition of anonymity.
Interestingly, Jaffer last played List A match nearly four years ago. Ever since he joined Vidarbha in 2015, Jaffer has only played the longer format and stayed away from the one-dayers and Twenty20s. Vidarbha have also done well without Jaffer, qualifying for the one-day knock-outs in four of the last six years.
“He has been regularly playing One-dayers in England and scoring heavily. You need experience in 50-over format. Our team will benefit a lot, especially in the crucial stages of the tournament. In the last few years, our team has done well in the league stage but struggled in the knock-outs,” the source added.
Some of the senior local players are disappointed with Jaffer’s selection. Many of them were not even included in the recently held Bapuna Cup citing their age. “It’s very strange. When it comes to local players our selectors talk about age and promoting youngsters. But for outstation players, everything is fine,” a local player, who doesn’t wish to be named, told TOI.
While there’s no doubt about Jaffer’s ability with the bat, the decision looks far from convincing. “What about athleticism and agility, which is must needed in shorter formats? He is a great player. Even at this age, he will score runs but will it help Vidarba going forward? Vidarbha are a good One-day side. They are one of the best fielding units in the country. I don’t think Jaffer fits in,” he said.
VCA officials, however, differ. “We only do what benefits the team. If you look at the team, all the player have selected themselves. Every performer is in the team and it’s a well-balanced squad,” the official explained.
The core of the squad is the same. The Faiz-led side has enough experience in Ganesh Satish, Apoorv Wankhade, Ravi Jangid, Shrikant Wagh, Akshay Wakhare and Jitesh Sharma. However, there are several youngsters like Sanjay Ramaswamy, Atharva Taide, Mohit Kale, Yash Thakur and Aditya Thakare in the squad.
THE SQUAD: Faiz Fazal (captain), Sanjay Ramaswamy, Ganesh Satish, Apoorv Wankhade, Atharva Taide, Akshay Wadkar, Jitesh Sharma, Mohit Kale, Ravi Jangid, Akshay Karnewar, Akshay Wakhare, Rajneesh Gurbani, Shrikant Wagh, Yash Thakur, Aditya Thakare, Wasim Jaffer.