Ashish Magotra
Wasim Jaffer is a talented cricketer. But talent alone does not guarantee success on the field. The swashbuckling Mumbai opener, who has been on the fringes of the Indian national side for long, decided to get his act together on the India 'A' team's recent tour of England. After 40 days in Blighty, he emerged the team's highest scorer, aggregating 552 runs at an average of 58.
It was against the South Africans, who the team took on in a four-day tie, that Jaffer finally kickstarted his tour. That was the penultimate match of the tour. He then rounded off the trip in a blaze of glory with a 218 against Warwickshire to aggregate 376 runs from the last two fixtures.
"The most satisfying part of the India 'A' tour was the runs I scored against a full-strength South Africa (90 and 54). Those two knocks gave me a lot of confidence, which I carried into the next match against Warwickshire," Jaffer said.
Though Jaffer has been one of the best openers in the country, his tendency to falter in the big games has proved to be his undoing. But the flashes of brilliance have convinced onlookers that he will be a valuable asset to the Indian cause if and when he gets his act together.
Jaffer acknowledges that consistency has been his biggest problem, but says he is working diligently to add that weapon to his armoury.
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"At the start of the 'A' tour, the team was very keen. We knew the selectors would monitor our performances very seriously. It was an especially important tour as we all knew that a good performance could get us a place in the team for the matches against New Zealand," he added, reflecting on his selection among the 36 probables for the New Zealand series.
Jaffer said the team responded well to pressure situations and performed excellently as a unit.
"The fact that we did not lose a single game says a lot about the team and the way it played its cricket."
But he is candid while discussing the team's achievements. "It is important to note that counties do not play their full-strength sides for games against touring 'A' teams. You can't blame them as they are playing in the league as well and some of their best players need a rest.
"But South Africa were very competitive. They were just coming off the crushing loss to England in the final of the NatWest Trophy, and they brought their best game to the park."
On the domestic front, he feels that his home team Mumbai, who won the Ranji Trophy after two years last year, will come out stronger. "The Irani Trophy game, Mumbai versus the Rest of India, is a very important one as all top players in the country will be playing. Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy last year without Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, so the presence of these two stalwarts certainly makes the side stronger."
Before the England tour, Jaffer had set himself the goal of emerging as the leading scorer of the side, something he achieved, though not without an initial struggle. "I failed to get a century before the last match and was languishing at the bottom of the run scorers," he recalled. "The double century changed all that. It shows how one good knock can change it all. One game, one good score, can change the situation immensely."
Clearly Jaffer has learnt a lot. Now, he is focusing on one thing alone: getting back into the senior side and establishing himself. "I am only thinking about consistency. I need to become more consistent."
At 25, Wasim Jaffer knows what he needs to do to become a consistent fixture in the national team.
