Wasim Jaffer comes back fitter

NAGPUR: "He looks fitter and leaner. He batted beautifully against us in Bapuna Cup. It was a perfect lesson for our batsmen on how to build the innings," Madhya Pradesh pacer Ishwar Pandey, who was with the Indian Tests squad from 2012-13 till England tour in 2014, told TOI about Wasim Jaffer's knock. Jaffer scored a fluent hundred against Madhya Pradesh in the recently-concluded Bapuna Cup. It was difficult for the MP players not get in awe of this classy right-hander. Word elegance straight away comes to the mind when you are talking about Jaffer. When he is in full flow, he makes batting looks so easy. Last month, when Wasim Jaffer wrote to the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA)— wishing to play Ranji Trophy —the only concern for the officials was his fitness. He signed a two-year contract with Vidarbha in 2015 and played 2015-16 season for Vidarbha. However, just before the Ranji Trophy last season, Jaffer was ruled out for whole season due to knee injury. Later on, VCA released him, although Jaffer wanted to accompany the team. Now, the 39-year-old is back to Vidarbha fold. "No one can dare to doubt about his class and his ability to score big runs. The only concern was his fitness. When Jaffer assured us about his fitness, we welcomed him. The decision was taken in consultation with vice president Prashant Vaidya and coach Chandrakant Pandit. The target is Ranji Trophy and his experience will help the boys," a VCA source told TOI. Jaffer has come back fitter and he is in great form. He has scored 810 for Moddershall & Oulton Cricket Club in the North Staffs and South Cheshire Division One League in Worcestershire and Warwickshire county this season. These runs have come at a healthy average of 67.50 with the help of two hundreds and six fifties. MP coach Harvinder Singh Sodhi enjoyed Jaffer's batting, even though he was in the opposition camp. "Jaffer has been a consistent performer ever since he started playing. He now has experience of more than twenty years at First Class and international level. It's amazing how he has performed consistently for a long period. It is something that Vidarbha players can learn from him," Sodhi said."We have seen batsmen perform in a season or two and then fade away. However, nobody can match his consistency. Even if he wasn't in good perform in any season, he still won the games for his team. He is a living legend of domestic cricket. Our domestic cricket is very challenging. You play one game on a green track and then get a turner in the next. See the amount of trophies Mumbai has won in these years," he said. "We have seen how today's batsmen muscle the ball. His batting has touch of class and timing, be it the drives, back foot punches, cut, pull or lofted shots. Wasim bats effortlessly. That day, he took his time to complete his fifty and then he raced to his hundred within no time," he said. Pandey has bowled quite a lot to Jaffer over in the last five-six years. He has got his wicket too. Jaffer, however, was in no mood to oblige that day. "He scored 104 in just 137 balls without showing any urgency. It was amazing to see how easily he found the gaps. I have always admired him as a batsman. Though we were at receiving end, it was great to watch him bat like that," Pandey said.In twilight of his career, fingers will keep pointing towards Jaffer. However, the soft-spoken lad has answered the critics with bat. It's difficult to guess how long he will continue to play but he would like to sign off with another Ranji Trophy title and that would be ideal for his great career.