Former India Test opener and Ranji Trophy legend Wasim Jaffer, who recently retired from all forms of cricket, has revealed that persistent injury issues and not lack of motivation was the reason he made the decision to quit the game. Jaffer, who had made his first-class debut in 1996-97, played 31 Tests and 2 ODIs for India playing his last match for the country in 2008 against South Africa.

Aged 42, Jaffer finished as the highest run-scorer in the history of Ranji Trophy after his retirement, leaving behind a trail of Ranji Trophy records. The most prominent amongst them being the most matches (156), the most runs (12,038), the most centuries (40), the most catches (200), along with being the highest run-scorer in the Duleep Trophy (2545) and the Irani Cup (1294). A playing career that lasted well over 2 decades, was finally ended when Jaffer called it quits earlier this month.

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Wasim Jaffer, who announced his retirement on Saturday, remains a #RanjiTrophy legend for a reason. pic.twitter.com/dFNOc3r8uF BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 9, 2020

In a freewheeling chat with indiatoday.in, armed with the benefit of hindsight, Jaffer reflected upon his glorious career which saw him brush shoulders with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni among others. The decision to retire, however, was not made in a hurry by Jaffer.

"When I was playing the Ranji Trophy this season, it was more of I was pretty much certain in my mind that - because of my injuries, the pain that I was going through, in my mind I was sure that I can't go on for longer. So generally, when you make up your mind consciously, things become a bit easier. If it comes as a shock then obviously you are hurt a lot. So I had made up my mind in the last season itself - that things were getting a bit difficult for me. Not just the cricket but the training, and other things which you do that enable you to play well," said Jaffer.

While he does miss out on playing cricket, Jaffer considers himself extremely lucky to have played so long and so successfully.

"Because of my injuries, those things were getting a bit more difficult to accomplish not because due to my motivation. My motivation is still there. When you feel that kind of pain then there isn't much enjoyment. I felt it after the start or just after 2-3 games that this is getting a bit too much. But because I had made up my mind that it would be my last season, it just made it a bit easier for me to accept the fact that I probably won't be playing anymore. But Almighty Allah has been very kind and I was very lucky to play this long- 20-25 years of playing cricket. I had my share of injuries but luckily they were not very serious injuries, I could go back take rehab and come back and play a game. I feel very fortunate to have played this long - been associated with Mumbai, Vidarbha, even the Indian team," added Jaffer.

12000 #RanjiTrophy runs and counting!



Wasim Jaffer is that run machine that keeps on scoring.



He has surpassed fifty as Vidarbha near 130 against Kerala.



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Everyone has regrets

With such a long career, there are bound to be ups and downs. It was the case with Jaffer as well when he was dropped from the team after the horrible tour to South Africa in 2000. Jaffer, on his part, has his own way of dealing with such things - destiny.

"I think every cricketer thinks he could have done or the other thing better in a certain match or situation. No person would be without regrets from his playing career. But I personally believe very strongly in destiny. If it's in your destiny you will eventually get it. Your work is to try and work hard. I have always believed that you shouldn't take half measures in your hard work, preparation and leave the rest in the hands of the almighty. If he has ordained it you will get it and if he hasn't, it doesn't matter how hard you try, you won't get it. Coming from a humble background, my parents, brothers have sacrificed so much for me playing cricket and feel very fortunate to be honest rather than thinking about what I couldn't achieve," replied Jaffer.

India's domestic cricket has also grown leaps and bounds during Jaffer's playing career and in his own words, things have "got better" since he started playing. With the arrival of live broadcasting in Ranji matches to the limited DRS available in this year's competition, Jaffer is satisfied with the direction BCCI is taking. However, when pressed about some of the long-raging issues like age and selection fraud, especially in junior cricket, Jaffer couldn't hide his frustration at these practices.

"Age fraud has to be completely stopped. In a way, it's cheating. Especially for the kids' parents and coaches, they should be discouraged from this practice. Because the 14-15-year-old kid is not so knowledgeable about what to do but the others involved in the process shouldn't engage in this. The beginning itself starts in a wring note, I feel. If the kid has the talent and is working hard, then there is no point in reducing those 1-2 years. Maybe he will play a couple of years more of junior cricket but then he has to come to men's cricket. And once at that level, the age doesn't matter as its basically Men vs Men at that stage. I have seen it happen a lot in junior cricket and I think it's the responsibility of the coaches and parents to not do this. If you start with cheating that is not a good thing," said Jaffer.

Wasim Jaffer played with some of the greats of Indian cricket (Reuters)

Suggestions for Ranji Trophy

Jaffer also had a few tips for the BCCI regarding tweaking a few aspects of domestic cricket, including introducing a full DRS in the knock-out stages of the Ranji Trophy.

"In first-class cricket, things are getting better especially from when I started playing. Whether it's neutral curators or umpires, the telecast and now the limited DRS. But there is still room for improvement. People taking decisions are going in the right direction. Indian cricket is getting better. All in all, I feel BCCI should try to start the season with Ranji Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 before the IPL auction and end the season with Vijay Hazare trophy. This way the franchise can also see the SMA tournament before the auction. Also, players will get extra time to prepare for red-ball cricket. Like last year, Ranji Trophy started late in December and although bowlers did well in the winter, batsmen didn't so, a lot of teams got bowled out for below-100 totals. Also, Vijay Hazare started first while SMA was played later. So as a player, you spent half the season playing with the white ball and within no time 7-8 days you have to start the Ranji Trophy, its very difficult. But with Ranji-Mushtaq Ali-Hazare-IPL format it will be a better format to continue with.

"It will be very difficult to use full DRS in all the matches as at a time there are a number of matches happening. But for the ones live on TV, BCCI should try to keep full DRS facilities. Also, for the knockouts, there should definitely be full DRS, because in such a big game if the margin of error increases, it can swing the game either way. So if you are giving it then why not 100% especially we don't have problems with funds or facilities. I guess next season BCCI might think about introducing full DRS from quarters onward.

"2-3 years have gone by since BCCI introduced the new group format but I still feel that all the 4 groups should be divided into 9 teams each(currently total 18 teams in Groups C and D out of which 5 qualify). Then from groups A and B, 3 teams should qualify. From the C group, only 2 teams should qualify. The topper from Group D, rather than getting a direct entry into the quarters, they should be promoted to group C like what happened with Goa this time. This will prevent competition in the quarters from becoming one-sided. Generally, group D has very weak teams and without being disrespectful to them, it becomes very easy for the 1st team as they are in for a one-sided clash against the group d topper," explained Jaffer.

3D cricketer only way to go?

Jaffer could be considered one of the rare breed of players who were much more successful in the longest format than one-day cricket. Current India batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari and Ishant Sharma are a few other examples of the same breed. But Jaffer thinks that for players growing up, they can't just look to become a one-format specialist.

"I feel that you don't get to face quality bowling (Test specialists during their off-time) but for young players the biggest challenge is to forge your game according to all the 3 formats. Today you can't be a one-dimensional player. If you are a Test specialist you will only play 10 matches a year, and I don't think that's enough. To become a world-class player like Virat Kohli, Williamson, Smith and Babar your game, fitness, fielding everything has to be according to all the 3 formats. Only then you can survive in today's cricket, earn respect and enough money and name. If you are playing Test cricket only, you yourself might not know when your country is going to play the next Test. Like for 9 months (Pujara) what will he do, especially if there is no county cricket, then there is so less time to prepare as there are lesser warm-up matches these days," said Jaffer.

The New Zealand disappointment and India's No.1 tag

Jaffer also seemed very disappointed with the Indian team's recent ODI and Test drubbing in New Zealand. Virat Kohli's team were thrashed 3-0 in the ODIs and 2-0 in Tests after winning the T20I leg 5-0. Incidentally, it was the first defeat for India in the ongoing World Test Championship. According to Jaffer, these defeats certainly don't sit well in India's World No.1 tag.

India were whitewashed 2-0 in the recent Test series in New Zealand (Reuters)

"I myself was very disappointed by the NZ tour. India had won the T20Is so well 5-0 but then they lost ODIs and Tests one-sided. The team is so strong in each department and that is why I was more disappointed. We shouldn't be beaten like this when you are the no. 1 in the world and you plan to stay on the top and dominate like AUS and WI. But those teams are so known only because they dominated outside of home. India too has these capabilities but we are not being able to do that the way we should. We won a historic series in AUS but none in SA, ENG and NZ. A team is judged as great only if we dominate in these places. Everyone knows that beating India in India is very difficult - be it any team. But only if we win Test series in these places, we would be convinced that this really is the world no.1 team," said Jaffer.

On his future plans, Jaffer has singled out coaching and commentary as the 2 most likely options to build his career after retirement. Having acted as a batting consultant with the Bangladesh cricket team while looking forward to similar duties with Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2020, Jaffer is hoping to keep in touch with the game he loves while coaching or commentating.

"Yes these 2 lines of work, if I get some exciting opportunity, I would definitely want to do it. Because I have played so much cricket, it is necessary for me to keep attached to cricket. Don't think I will enjoy anything else that much. Let's see...going forward I am the batting coach of KXIP and then I also have a contract with Bangladesh. If some other opportunities arrive, say from the BCCI I will definitely give it a thought. In the end, being involved with the game in any role whatsoever is going to keep me happy. Will try ti help youngsters in their careers, game, that would be the best satisfaction that I can get," concluded Jaffer.