NEW DELHI: It was at an intimate dinner hosted by Irfan Pathan that a young, dynamic Hardik Pandya was first introduced to one of his idols — Wasim Jaffer. Years later, the India all-rounder’s admiration for the domestic stalwart has only grown stronger, with Pandya once again naming Jaffer as his cricketing idol at the Naman Awards.While Jaffer represented India just 33 times, his legacy was built in domestic cricket, where he scored nearly 20,000 first-class runs over a remarkable 25-year career.
Recalling his first interaction with Pandya, Jaffer went back to the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy season, when Mumbai faced Baroda and Pandya was still an emerging talent.Speaking on his Instagram profile, Jaffer said: “The first time I met him was during the 2014 or 2015 Ranji season. Mumbai were playing Baroda in Baroda. Irfan (Pathan), Yusuf (Pathan), and Munaf (Patel) were playing in the opposition team. I was not playing that match because I was injured, but I traveled with the team.”“I remember that we went to Irfan’s house for dinner, and that is when I met Hardik and Krunal for the first time,” said Jaffer. “Irfan told me, ‘Meet Hardik, he is going to play very soon.’ And I think he was picked by the Mumbai Indians that season itself.”At the time, Pandya was just beginning to make a name for himself, but his admiration for Jaffer was already evident.“Irfan told me that he is a big fan of mine. Hardik himself said, ‘Main aapki batting bahut dekhta hoon aur mujhe bahut apka khelne ka andaz pasand hai (I watch your batting a lot and I really like the way you play).’”“It’s very nice of him that he still takes my name in front of big stars. And that is why there has been so much news about who Wasim Jaffer is,” reflected Jaffer. “People keep hearing other names very often, but they might not remember Wasim Jaffer because I made a name for myself in First-Class cricket.”
