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'Wasim Jaffer was my favourite cricketer. I always placed him above other legends': India star's unusual pick
While Jaffer's international career did not scale the heights his domestic career did, a star India all-rounder has revealed that the veteran Mumbai batter was his favourite cricketer while growing up.
Wasim Jaffer played in an era when Indian cricket was ruled by the Fab 5 in batting. Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman remained the backbone of Indian Test batting for years, which made it really difficult for any other batter to present a case for themselves. Yet, Jaffer managed to make his mark, scoring 1944 runs from 31 Tests, including five centuries and 11 fifties. He scored two double-centuries for India including a best of 212 against West Indies in 2006, followed by a 202-run knock against Pakistan at home the following year. One of Jaffer's finest hundreds remains the one he scores against South Africa in Cape Town 2007.
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While Jaffer's international career didn't scale the heights his domestic career for Mumbai and Vidarbha did, star India rounder Hardik Pandya has revealed that the veteran Mumbai batter was his favourite cricketer while growing up. While most of the current cricketers were idols of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman, Pandya was a Jaffer fan while growing up, so much so that he placed the Mumbai veteran above all other legends.
"Like everyone, I had favourite cricketers. I liked Jacques Kallis, Virat, Sachin sir. There are so many greats that you can't pick. My favourite cricketer was actually Wasim Jaffer. I used to love watching him bat. Someone I always placed him above other legends. Somehow, I used to copy his batting, but I was never able to get his class," Hardik said on the SG podcast.
Hardik opened up on his equation with Krunal, explaining the advantage of having his brother on and off the field. As kids, both were different players so while there was no sibling rivalry between the two as such, Hardik and Krunal motivated each other to keep improving. "Krunal and I are each other's backbone. We talk cricket, life and a lot of things. If you would have asked me six years before that both you brothers would play for India together, I would take it," added Hardik.
"Krunal and I were completely different cricketers. He was a left-handed batter who could bowl while I used to bowl leg spin and bat right-handed. He used to bat at 4-5 and I used to bat at No. 3. We never had a rivalry because our roles were always different. I used to play Under-16, he played Under-19. But we were there for each other so make sure we improve in all departments."
