When it comes to the serious business of Test cricket, Wasim Jaffer is one of the quiet but consistent performers in a star-studded Team India. Since staging a successful comeback to the team in the first Test against England at Nagpur in March 2006, with an innings of 81 and 100 against the likes of Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff, among others, he's always ensured a solid start to the innings.
The Mumbai batsman has now set his sights on the upcoming series against Pakistan and Australia.
Haresh Pandya spoke with him during the recent Irani Cup match in Rajkot.
Are you satisfied with the way you have been performing as a Test opener since making yet another comeback into the Indian Team last year?
Yes, I think so. I have figured in the five Test series that India played since I made my comeback and I believe I have done quite well and essayed a few important innings. I have been scoring quite consistently and I am happy about it. I scored a hundred (116) in the third and final Test against South Africa at Cape Town even though I was not very consistent in that particular Test series. Yes, I am pretty satisfied with my performance so far. Maybe I have to try to be more consistent than what I am today.
Talking about consistency, don't you think you were not that consistent in the recent Test series in England and dismissed just when you looked set to play a big innings on a couple of occasions?
Of course, I played fairly well in the Test series. But you are right that I often got out when I was well-set. I played an innings of 58 at Lord's, 62 at Trent Bridge and 35 at The Oval. I think I had been shaping pretty well. I agree I should have got a big hundred or two. But, then, such things happen. The England bowlers bowled really well. The ball had been swinging quite a lot. The Duke ball generally swings more after 25 overs. It was surprising that nobody from our side got a hundred in the series apart from Anil Kumble. But I must say the England tour turned out to be a good learning experience for me.
Don't you think the Indian batsmen were not truly tested, as the hosts played without their key fast bowlers, Hoggard, Harmison and Flintoff, in all the Tests?
I think if all of them had played in the series, it would have been very tough opposition. But, then, injuries and illnesses are part and parcel of the game. Certain things are not in your hand and you miss out sometimes. Fast bowling is obviously a tough job. In a way, England were unfortunate in that as they did not play at full strength. But we did pretty well and won the series and you cannot really ask for more.
India failed to win the third and final Test at The Oval after coming so close to winning the match. Any regrets?
Well, our aim was not to lose the Test. We were in a very strong position at The Oval. We could have enforced the follow-on, but we just did not want to give any sniff of victory to England because we were 1-0 up in the series. If the series had been leveled at 1-1, we would probably have enforced the follow-on.
What do you think about Rahul Dravid's sudden, unexpected decision to quit as India's captain?
I would not like to make any comment on this issue. Please excuse me. It is his personal decision and all I can say is we ought to respect it.
You seem to be very determined, considering the confidence and consistency with which you have been batting since your return to Team India, to make up for the lost opportunities...
As you know, I made my Test debut in 2000, against South Africa at Mumbai, and I have seen many ups and downs in my career. I was dropped on several occasions and I believe I have missed about five to six precious years of Test cricket. Obviously, I was very disappointed about it. But, at the same time, I learnt quite a lot when I was out of the national side for a long period. I went back to first-class cricket and improved my game. International cricket is very, very tough. Probably I was lacking in something. If not in skills, then maybe the mental side of the game. It made me realise that I had to improve my game further -- mentally and physically. Of course, I missed quite a lot while remaining away from the Test side. But I am happy to have managed to come back into the team. I have had a few good series since my comeback. I have to go series by series; try to score as many runs as I can and be very consistent.
Do you feel you are secure in the Test side now?
Nobody can say with any degree of certainty that his place is secure in the team. You are always as good as your last innings. I would like to think that I am just five series old. Each and every new series is very important for me. I have to focus on the next series, score runs and then again think about the following rubber. So I do not think that my place is secure in the Indian team. Nor can I take things for granted. I cannot do that.
Do you sometimes go out to open the Indian innings with some sort of psychological pressure and fear at the back of your mind about your place in the team for the next game? Do you worry about your place in the side?
Opening the innings is a tough job. You have to face the new ball when the bowlers are fresh. And the new ball can do anything. You can get out cheaply, you can get a good ball, you can get out to a brilliant catch. A couple of low scores can put you under pressure. I have experienced all this. So I do not want to be complacent or take things for granted as far as my place in the Indian side is concerned.
Once I settle down, I have to make sure that I get a big score. The selectors as well as team management have placed their confidence and faith in me and my ability, and it is my duty to always try my best to deliver and give something back.
I have to admit that despite my poor performance in the first two Tests in South Africa late last year they gave me a chance to play in the third. I repaid it with a century, as I told you in the beginning of this interview. So I do not want to fail again. I have to be more and more consistent.
Was the century in South Africa a turning point in your career? Or was it the double hundred you scored in the West Indies in June 2006, so far as your Test rehabilitation is concerned?
Neither. I would say my performance against England in Nagpur could be considered the turning point of my career. It gave me a lot of confidence and helped me come back strongly into the national team. I was making a comeback after three years or so and I was very happy about scoring 81 and 100 against a very competitive England attack.
I have been trying to improve my game and scoring runs pretty consistently since. I am glad I have succeeded in achieving a bit of that.
Could you recall your double century against the West Indies at St John's in Antigua last year and shed some light on it?
It was a very pleasing moment, one of the high points of my brief Test career so far. It was memorable, too. I scored only 1 in the first innings. We were 130 runs behind the West Indies, and probably on the verge of losing the Test, when I went out to open India's second innings with Virender Sehwag. But my double hundred, and useful scores by all the leading Indian batsmen, gave us a glimmer of hope to try and win the Test. Unfortunately, we could not force what would have been a thrilling win. We were deprived of victory by just a solitary wicket.
But it was a very special feeling for me to score a double century. You do not score too many double hundreds in your Test career. So I was happy making a double hundred in Test cricket and that also on the West Indies soil.
Do you remember any particular compliment a prominent cricket personality may have paid you on your feat?
Well, when you score a century or a double century, everybody congratulates you, not just your teammates but almost everyone. As for my double century, I remember that former West Indies great Colin Croft was very pleased with my performance. Croft, who is now a respected journalist, told me I had played really well. Our then coach, Greg Chappell, a truly great batsman in his own right, also praised my innings. And so did Dravid and others. They all complimented me and it was a very good feeling. I chersih all the sweet memories of my double century.
Having grown up admiring Sachin Tendulkar, how do you feel now playing alongside the master batsman in the Indian team?
It is obviously a great feeling. I learn a lot from watching him, from whatever tips and inputs he gives me. He is not only one of the best batsmen produced by India, but by the world. It is an honour for all of us, not just me, sharing the dressing room and playing with him.
You are basically a stroke-player. But are there moments when your captain or your coach, or both of them, may have given you instructions to curtail your shots, or curb your natural game, for the sake of Team India?
Well, everybody knows, when he represents his country, what he has to do; what is expected of him. Although sometimes the team management may tell you to do this or to do that, they know an opener's job is to play out the new ball and go on and get a big score for the side. As far as I am concerned, not too many people come to me and say anything. I mean they know, they are even confident, that I am given a particular job or task and I will do it quite well.
Any particular side of your batting you are very confident about?
I take my time, build the innings and score runs. I am very confident about my patience and concentration. They enable me to stay at the wicket for a longer duration. I am not the one who will go after the bowling like many other stroke-players. Of course, I treat every ball on its merit and never allow any loose or bad delivery to go unpunished. However, being an opener, I have often had to stay longer at the wicket and try and play a big innings. And I have succeeded in this more often than not.
Is there any particular shot which you love to play often?
I just cannot single out a particular shot and say that I love it the most. Everything that comes off the middle of the bat and goes for a four gives me joy and satisfaction.
You have opened with quite a few openers. How was the experience?
I have enjoyed opening the innings with all my partners. I have got along well with all of them. You get to open with someone for a few Tests and then with someone else for a period of time. I have had good camaraderie with all my opening partners, be it Sehwag or Dinesh Karthick.
Have you ever been troubled by a particular bowler or two?
Test cricket is a different ball game altogether. There are not as many restrictions on bowlers in Tests as there are in One-Day Internationals or Twenty20. So every bowler gives you trouble. And it is his job to unsettle the batsman. It is just how you tackle him which is very important. Bowlers like Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Andre Nel, Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff are all very good bowlers and they tend to trouble you at times. It is always a big challenge to bat against them and score many runs.
Do you remember any particular spell by a fast bowler which may have truly tested your skills, technique and nerves?
I think the ones bowled by Flintoff at Nagpur and Ntini and Dale Steyn in Cape Town were very dangerous. Besides the right technique and footwork, it called for a lot of mental toughness to handle them.
You have played only two One-Day Internationals so far. Doesn't it bother you that you are labelled a specialist Test batsman, nay, an opener and never considered for One-Day Internationals?
Frankly, I do not want to think too much about it. I am happy playing Test cricket and doing my best for the country. To me, Test cricket is the real cricket and there is nothing better than it. If you score runs in Test cricket, it really gives you a lot of happiness and satisfaction. As long as I am scoring runs in Test cricket, I am quite happy. But this does not mean I do not want to play One-Day Internationals. In fact, if given the opportunities, I would certainly like to play and prove my worth in One-Day Internationals as well.
What are your immediate goals?
As I told you, I take series by series. So the forthcoming series against Pakistan in India is a big challenge. I have never played against Pakistan in Tests. And then there is the tour to Australia later this year. So these two upcoming series are very important for me. In short, I am focusing on doing well against Pakistan and Australia and scoring as many runs as I can, because these two series are very crucial for my career. These are my immediate goals.
Inshallah, I will try my utmost against Pakistan and Australia. It will be a great challenge to perform well against them.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images