No Stopping: At The Age Of 40, Wasim Jaffer Sets Unique Batting Record In Domestic Cricket

As the game resumes on Day 3, Jaffer has fair chance to become the first batsman to get a triple century in the domestic circuit at an age of 40 years

By: Aakash Biswas |
March 16, 2018 4:11 pm

It was in 2008 when Wasim Jaffer played his last Test match for India against South Africa in Kanpur. For those who don’t know or recall this Indian opener from Mumbai, he was a man who struggled a lot during his international outings. But when he got off the mark, he just slew the patience of his opponents. And after a decade of being ousted from the Indian side, he has become the first Indian player above the age of 40 years to register more than 250 runs in a first-class inning.

Usually, cricketers bid adieu to the gentlemen’s game at this age but Jaffer seems unstoppable. On March 15 when he went out to bat, Jaffer became the 5th Indian batsman to score a double century at the age of 40.

Here is the glimpse of that moment:

Indian cricket’s old warhorse Wasim Jaffer becomes only the 5th Indian batsman to score a double century at the age of 40! Vidarbha at 510/3 heading towards a mammoth total in the final of #IraniCup #ROIvVID

(video courtesy: @BCCIdomestic) pic.twitter.com/qSQmov4sRm

— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) March 15, 2018

With this knock, Jaffer is now placed at the sixth position on the list of India’s all-time leading domestic run scorers. Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar tops the list with 25834 runs followed by Sachin Tendulkar (25,396 runs), Rahul Dravid (23,794 runs), VVS Laxman (19,730 runs) and Vijay Hazare (18,740 runs).

He might not have impressed the selectors with his performance when he donned the Indian Test jersey but his records in the domestic circuit are par excellence. Let’s have a look at the records associated with Jaffer in the Ranji Trophy:

Wasim Jaffer has 100% track record in Ranji finals. He appeared in 10 finals (For Mumbai and Vidarbha) and won all of them.
He is the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy till date:

Highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy:

Sl No.	Runs	Batsman	Teams	Career Span
1	Wasim Jaffer	10,665	Vidarbha, Bombay/Mumbai	1996/97 – Present
2	Amol Mazumdar	9202	Bombay/Mumbai, Assam, Andhra Pradesh	1993/94 – 2013/14
3	Devendra Bundela	9168	Madhya Pradesh	1995/96 – Present
4	Mithun Manhas	8554	Delhi, J & K	1997/98 – 2016/17
5	Hrishikesh Kanitkar	8059	Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan	1994/95 – 2013/14

He also owns the most number of centuries under his belt in the Ranji Trophy:

Most career centuries:

Sl No.	Centuries	Batsman	Teams	Career Span
1	36	Wasim Jaffer	Bombay/Mumbai, Vidarbha	1996/97 – Present
2	31	Ajay Sharma	Delhi, Himachal Pradesh	1984/85 – 2000/01
3	28	Hrishikesh Kanitkar	Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan	1994/95 – 2013/14
4	28	Amol Mazumdar	Bombay/Mumbai, Assam, Andhra Pradesh	1993/94 – 2013/14
5	27	Amarjeet Kaypee	Punjab, Haryana	1980/81 – 1999/00

By the end of day 2, Vidarbha scored a massive total of 598 runs with the loss of 3 wickets. On Day 3, Jaffer (285*) and Apoorv Wankhade (45) resumed the inning. Jaffer haa a fair chance to become the first batsman to get a triple century in the domestic circuit at an age of 40 years but h ended up scoring 286 runs and lost his wicket to Siddharth Kaul.