Jaffer taken by surprise

Wasim Jaffer is obviously tickled by his debut appearance in a one-day international squad , writes Kadambari Murali.

Wasim Jaffer is obviously tickled by his debut appearance in a one-day international squad but India’s Test opener was adamant that the news, though “very nice”, was completely unexpected.

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“Honestly speaking, it has taken me by surprise,” Jaffer told HT from Cuttack, where he turned out for West Zone against Sri Lanka A in a Duleep Trophy game.

“I was walking back to the dressing room at lunch and someone made an announcement on the PA system that Zaheer and I had made the squad for the South Africa tour. I thought the Test squad had also been announced and it wasn’t a surprise but when I walked into the dressing room and saw the TV, I realised it was the one-day squad. I was stunned.”

Jaffer said that as he had played only one Deodhar Trophy game for West, he knew he wasn’t really considered a one-day player even though he had turned out for Mumbai in the Ranji one-dayers. “Having said that, I don’t think I cannot play one-day cricket and I am sure I would enjoy it,” he said.

He also said that while he would obviously love to make the one-day XI, he was looking forward to going early and acclimatising himself to South African conditions ahead of the Test series. “Actually, I was all keyed up for the Test series, completely focussed on that, so I’ll now have to readjust a bit. But I am really looking forward to the challenge.”