Published: Sep 26, 2015, 02:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 26, 2015, 02:56 PM (IST)
An emotional Wasim Jaffer said that he was not “Sachin Tendulkar” for the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to organise a farewell in his honour. Jaffer, who dedicated his career to the team for more than two decades, has 10,056 runs, the maximum-even in Ranji Trophy. Jaffer who represented Khar Gymkhana in local cricket, wished everyone a `happy Eid’, his final words that summed up his epic career for Mumbai, as he the media’s press conference on Friday. The cricketer is convinced that the current squad has a lot of potential and he doesn’t want a young player to be on bench because of him. “I am convinced that this team has a lot of potential. You can see last year’s result. They played the Ranji semifinal without any star players,” he added. READ: Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer among other stalwarts to transfer from long-term teams
According to Times of India, the 37-year-old said, “It’s very different feeling to leave Mumbai after 19 years. It’s a long time, almost two decades. It’s a difficult situation and decision for me. I’ll be known as a Mumbai player, no matter where I play. Since 2008, I was getting a lot of offers. I thought this was a good time.”
Jaffer who will represent Vidarbha from this season, said “There are a lot of youngsters coming through. At this stage of my career, I won’t like a good youngster to sit out because me. It’s time to move on. I’ve got a few seasons left in me. I want to challenge myself in different avenues. That’s what made me take this decision.” PHOTO: Ajinkya Rahane celebrates 1st wedding anniversary with wife
“In 2008,when I was dropped [from the Indian team], I was getting a lot of tempting offers, but I stuck to Mumbai. However in the twilight of my career, I feel this is a good time for the team to rebuild and for me to take up a new challenge as well. Sometimes when you play for your home state, you take things for granted, so I needed some motivation as well. Last year, I was out injured, and I saw the team do well without me. That probably made me take this decision,” he signed off.
