Punjab offers Wasim Jaffer role of senior men’s team head coach ahead of domestic season

While there are talks that former Australian quick Shaun Tait might be roped in as the bowling coach, Mehta said that nothing has been decided yet and the support staff will be appointed shortly.

The 46-year-old Jaffer is the highest run-scorer in the history of the Ranji Trophy with 12038 runs in 238 innings.  | Photo Credit: The Hindu/MOORTHY RV

The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has offered former India international Wasim Jaffer the role of head coach of the senior men’s team ahead of the domestic season.

Confirming the development to  Sportstar, the PCA president Amarjeet Singh Mehta said, “Our main aim is to win the Ranji Trophy and also Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, so we unanimously decided to appoint him (Jaffer) as the head coach. With his experience and expertise, we are confident that Jaffer will motivate the team to achieve success...”

While a few candidates were shortlisted, Jaffer was chosen because of his vast experience in red-ball cricket. “He is one of the best longer format players in the country and we did not want to miss out on the opportunity of having him on board,” Mehta said.

The association CEO Deepak Sharma formally communicated the association’s decision to Jaffer via email on Friday, and he has been asked to be available “from August 2, 2024 to March 31, 2025 or till the completion of the BCCI tournaments, whichever is earlier.”

Last season, Punjab won the Vijay Hazare Trophy under the captaincy of Mandeep Singh, while former India international Aavishkar Salvi was the coach.

However, Salvi joined the National Cricket Academy this season and has been working as the bowling coach of India’s women’s cricket team. Mandeep Singh has moved on to Tripura, as reported by this publication earlier.

In the 2022-23 season, Punjab reached the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy before going down to Saurashtra. In the last edition, it failed to make the knockouts.

“We have done reasonably well in white-ball cricket lately, but we want to be consistent in red-ball cricket and that’s why we thought of looking at Jaffer,” Mehta said.

The 46-year-old Jaffer is the highest run-scorer in the history of the Ranji Trophy with 12038 runs in 238 innings. 

While there are talks that former Australian quick Shaun Tait might be roped in as the bowling coach, Mehta said that nothing has been decided yet and the support staff will be appointed shortly.