As the Vidarbha players celebrated their first-ever Ranji Trophy title win at the Holkar Stadium on Monday, in one corner of the ground, three legends of Indian domestic cricket—Wasim Jaffer, Devendra Bundela and Amol Muzumdar—were busy chatting.
READ: Vidarbha clinches its maiden Ranji Trophy
A few keen followers of the game understood the importance of that frame. After all, the three feature in the top three list of Ranji Trophy’s highest run-getters list.
While Jaffer, who is a key member of the Vidarbha side, tops the chart with 10,738 runs, Muzumdar is second with 9,202 runs, followed by Bundela (9,201).
Ranji Trophy final, Day 5: - As It Happened
While Muzumdar has now turned to commentary both Jaffer and Bundela are still plying their trade in the domestic circuit. During the conversation, all of them were busy discussing how to spread the game among the youngsters.
Perhaps, that’s what has made Jaffer a loved name in the Vidarbha team. Ever since joining the side three seasons ago, Jaffer has been a mentor to the junior players and as the team won it’s first-ever Ranji Trophy title, Jaffer admitted that Vidarbha will have to keep the momentum going.
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Vidarbha needed a kick-start
“Vidarbha needed this kick-start. They need to carry this forward. They’ve got the quality and belief. It’s all about maintaining the consistency now,” Jaffer said.
While he was confident of the side doing well in the tournament, Jaffer admitted that a bit of luck was needed to win the trophy. “To win the title, you need a little bit of luck. I always told the players to believe in themselves. From the start of the season, I always believed we could do something special,” the former Mumbai cricketer said.
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Jaffer leads the charge
It was Jaffer, whose gritty knock helped Vidarbha steady the ship in the first innings and the seasoned batsman also bats for going back to the old elite and plate system, as that would ‘keep the competition alive’.
Despite this being his ninth Ranji Trophy final, Jaffer wants to play for a while. “I don’t know anything other than playing cricket. I can do a bit of coaching and commentate but it won’t give me as much of joy.
"There’s always a lot of time to do all these things. I’ll look to play as long as my fitness allows me,” he said, adding: “I know there are not many years left in me. But currently, I’m enjoying my cricket.”
Considered one of the most dedicated cricketers of the side, even the Vidarbha players would want to get Wasim 'bhai' back in the next season.
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