4 domestic records of Wasim Jaffer, a colossus in Ranji Trophy cricket

Following an illustrious domestic career lasting two decades, that saw him play with the likes of Sanjay Manjrekar and Sachin Tendulkar, the 42-year-old Wasim Jaffer has decided to hang up his boots. Jaffer made his domestic debut for Mumbai in 1996-97, before going on to become yet another successful export from the city to play for the national team.

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

The only Indian opener to score a Test century in South Africa (116 in Cape Town), Jaffer is one of only five opening batsman to have scored multiple double hundreds for the country. The Mumbai man scored 212 against West Indies in Antigua in 2006 for his first Test double, and followed up with a 202 against Pakistan in Kolkata two years later.

Also see – MI squad

After winning eight Ranji Trophy titles for Mumbai, Jaffer moved to Vidarbha - where he picked up his ninth and 10th titles in the competition in 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively. Plagued by a persistent knee injury during 2019-20, he failed to get to the three-figure mark in seven games as the two-time defending champions crashed out in the Group Stage, following which Jaffer decided to call time on his career.

Jaffer wins his 10th Ranji Trophy title in 2018-19

As one of the giants of Indian domestic cricket wades off into the sunset, let us have a look at four of the most striking records he accomplished in the Ranji Trophy during the course of his illustrious career:

#1 Most games in the Ranji Trophy

Jaffer's 156 games in India's premier domestic cricket competition, the Ranji Trophy, is the most by any player. The right-hander is the only player to appear in 150 games in the competition, reaching the landmark in a group-stage game against Andhra Pradesh in 2019-20.

The 42-year-old, who has played 129 Ranji Trophy games for Mumbai, has also appeared in 27 games across three seasons in the competition for Vidarbha (who became the newest Ranji Trophy champions in 2017-18 and followed up with a second title in the very next season).

#2 Most runs in the Ranji Trophy

Jaffer is the only player to score 10,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy, besides being the first player to bag that milestone for a single team (Mumbai) - for whom he scored 10,043 runs.

The 10-time Ranji Trophy winner's final tally of 12,038 runs in the competition is over 3,000 runs ahead of second-placed Amol Muzumdar (9,202 runs) in the Ranji Trophy's all-time run-scoring chart.

Amol Mazumdar

This makes the 42-year-old the only player to reach the milestones of 11,000 and 12,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy.

#3 Most centuries in the Ranji Trophy

Jaffer's tally of 40 centuries in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai and Vidarbha is the highest of all time. His haul is nine clear of Ajay Sharma (31) who, like Jaffer, also played for two teams in the Ranji Trophy - Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

Jaffer also holds the record for most Ranji Trophy centuries for a single team (Mumbai) for whom he has breached the three-figure mark on 35 occasions in 129 games. Memorably, Jaffer bagged his highest first-class score of 314 not out in only his second game for Mumbai.

#4 Only player to score 1,000 runs in a Ranji Trophy season on multiple occasions

Jaffer is the only player to score 1,000 runs in a Ranji Trophy season on multiple occasions, and is also the only player to do so for multiple teams in the competition.

The right-hander scored 1,260 runs for Mumbai in 2008-09 and garnered 1037 runs for Vidarbha in 2018-19 as the newest team to win the Ranji Trophy (2017-18) successfully defended their title.

On both the occasions that Jaffer bagged 1000 runs in a Ranji Trophy season, his respective team went all the way.