One of the top-class Indian first-class cricketers, Wasim Jaffer, has recently claimed that the T20 skills are going to become the must-adopted skill for the cricketers to survive for a long time.
Wasim Jaffer is not just the most run-scorer in Ranji Trophy history; he is also the sixth most run-scorer as an Indian first-class cricketer. In his Ranji Trophy career, the right-handed batsman has already scored 11,775 runs. Since making his first-class debut in 1996/97, the active cricketer has played 253 first-class games where he has scored 19,147 runs with an average of 51.19.
He also played for the Indian national cricket team. After making his international debut in February 2000, Wasim Jaffer has played 31 Tests where he has scored 1,944 runs with an average of 34.10. Moreover, he has also played two ODIs where he has scored only ten runs with an average of 5.00.
He has also played 23 T20s till 2012 and has scored 616 runs with an average of 28.00. The right-handed batsman has hit six half-centuries in T20 career, including his best career knock of 95 runs. However, he is not a power hitter, and that’s why he hasn’t earned success in the shortest format.
The IPL brings the benchmark for the players to get picked for the Indian team
Rather thanthat , he is more of a traditional cricketer, and he has classy technical skill to match with the first-class format. Though he is a top-class cricketer in the longest cricket format, he feels that the T20 skills are essential in modern cricket.
He believes that a player can’t play cricket for a long term if he doesn’t have the T20 skills. However, the 40-year-old doesn’t blame anyone for this as he thinks that the present system works in this way.
According to rediff.com, Wasim Jaffer recently said, “This is how the system is working now. The times have changed. Nowadays, I feel a player needs to have T20 skills otherwise he is not going to survive. No matter how much runs you score in the Ranji Trophy or Duleep Trophy or Irani Trophy, if you don’t have T20 skills in batting or bowling, you are not going to go too far. Obviously, they look into that and they prioritise their game accordingly to suit T20 cricket which I don’t think is their fault. That is how the system works now and they want to get noticed.
“They know if they don’t play the IPL, they won’t get too far. The IPL gives them the benchmark for them to get picked for the Indian team. You can’t blame them because you need to have T20 skills otherwise you are not going to play too much cricket.”
Wasim Jaffer also played in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008 to 2009, he played eight IPL matches. In IPL career, he scored 130 runs with an average of 16.25.