Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer announces retirement from cricket

Image Credits: Twitter/@WasimJaffer14

Mumbai: Former India opener Wasim Jaffer on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, putting a hold on his two-decade-long cricketing career.

The 42-year-old veteran batsman is now looking forward to starting his second innings in cricket.

"After all these years in cricket, it is time to move on. But just like the red ball format which is very dear to me, it`s the end of only the first innings. I am looking forward to the second innings in any capacity, be it in coaching, commentary, etc. As long as I stay involved with the game as this game has given me so much..My father wanted one of his sons to represent India and I feel proud to have fulfilled his dream," Jaffer said in a statement.

"First of all, I would like to thank The Almighty Allah, who gave me the talent to play this beautiful game. I`d like to also thank my family - my parents and brothers for encouraging me to pursue the sport as a profession and my wife, who left a cosy life of England to create a lovely home for our children and me," he said.

The player also thanked his colleagues and coaches.

"My gratitude to all the captains I played under and all my colleagues from whom I learnt so much about the game and shared some lifelong memories. I would also like to thank all the support staff who were a constant pillar of support in my long journey," Jaffer said. 

After 25 years of playing professional cricket, time has come to say goodbye. Thank you @BCCI @MumbaiCricAssoc, VCA, my teammates, media and fans. This is my official statement. pic.twitter.com/xP3wL4u70s — Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 7, 2020

In 31 Tests, he scored 1944 runs at an average of 34.11 with 11 fifties and five centuries.

He is one of the few Indian batsmen who has a double hundred in the West Indies. He made 212 against the hosts in St Lucia.

Jaffer donned the Indian jersey in two ODIs and scored 10 runs. The right-handed batsman played for Mumbai for most of his career and later also represented Vidarbha.

He played 260 first-class matches and accumulated 19410 runs with the highest score of 314.

He has 91 ton and 57 half-centuries to his name. He is the first player to play in 150 Ranji Trophy matches.

He also became the first batsman to score 12,000 runs in Ranji Trophy, a major domestic tournament in India.