3 records held by Wasim Jaffer in the Ranji Trophy
Veteran batsman Wasim Jaffer recently created history by becoming the first cricketer to score 12,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy, India’s most renowned domestic cricket tournament. Jaffer, who played most of his cricket for Mumbai, now represents Vidharba.
Jaffer achieved the latest feat against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy Elite match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Batting at number three, the 41-year-old scored 57 from 149 balls with seven fours and a six before being dismissed.
Before the start of the 2019-20 season, Jaffer had 11,775 runs to his name in the Ranji Trophy. The bearded cricketer made his first-class debut way back in 1996-97, and is renowned as one of the greatest players ever on the domestic circuit.
Having made his India debut against South Africa in 2000, Jaffer though had a stop-start career international career. He went on to play 31 Tests and 2 ODIs, scoring 1,944 and 10 runs respectively. As Jaffer continues his memorable domestic journey, here’s a look at three records held by him in the Ranji Trophy.
#1. Most Runs
Jaffer, who just crossed 12,000 runs, is the leading run-getter in the Ranji Trophy by some distance. Following his latest knock, he now has 12,038 runs to his name in a career spanning nearly two-and-a-half decades.
Amol Muzumdar, who represented Mumbai, Assam, and Andhra in a career that lasted for two decades, is second on the list. He is way behind with 9,202 runs. Former Madhya Pradesh (MP) captain Devendra Bundela comes a close third with 9,201 runs. He was a stalwart of MP cricket for two decades.
Mithun Manhas and Hrishikesh Kanitkar complete the top five with 8,554 runs and 8,059 runs respectively. Kanitkar is most famous for hitting the boundary that won India the Independence Cup against Pakistan in 1998, but could not replicate his domestic success at the international stage.
#2. Most centuries
Jaffer also holds the record for having scored the most number of hundreds in the Ranji Trophy. The veteran batsman has notched up as many as 40 centuries in the Ranji Trophy. Another domestic giant, Ajay Sharma, who represented Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, is second on the list with 31 hundreds. Unfortunately, Sharma is most remembered for his involvement in the 2000 match-fixing scandal that led to him being banned.
Muzumdar and Kanitkar are joint third with 28 tons each. Amarjit Kaypee, who represented Punjab and Haryana, made his debut in the 1980-81 season, and went on to play for the next two decades. In October 2000, he announced his retirement from first-class cricket.
Former India cricketer Brijesh Patel, who represented Mysore/Karnataka, and Maharashtra batsman Surendra Bhave complete the top five list with 26 hundreds each in the Ranji Trophy.
#3. First cricketer to play 150 Ranji matches
In December 2019, Jaffer created another record by becoming the first batsman in the history of the domestic tournament to play 150 Ranji Trophy matches. He achieved the feat playing for Vidarbha against Andhra at the Devineni Venkata Ramana Praneetha Ground in Vijayawada. Intriguingly, the start of Jaffer's 150th Ranji match was delayed after a snake entered the stadium.
Before this feat, Jaffer already held the record for being the most capped player in Ranji history. While Jaffer has played most matches, Bundela and Muzumdar are second and third on the list with 145 and 136 games in the Ranji Trophy respectively.
In his overall first-class career, Jaffer has 19,410 runs in 260 matches at an average of 50.67 with 57 hundreds, 91 fifties and a best of 314 not out. The triple came in only his second first-class encounter, against Saurashtra as an 18-year-old in November 1996.