Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer, who recently quit as Uttarakhand coach owing to a dispute with the state association, on Wednesday rejected allegations by the body’s officials that he tried to force religion-based selections in the team. Hailed as one of India’s greatest-ever domestic player – Jaffer, who played 31 Tests for India, said the charge that he favoured Muslim players, which was levelled by the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand secretary Mahim Verma in a media report, had caused him immense pain.
The 42-year-old Jaffer resigned on Tuesday citing “interference and bias of selectors and the association’s secretary for non-deserving players” as the reason. “…jo communal angle lagaya (the communal angle that has been brought up), that is very, very sad,” Jaffer said in a virtual press conference.
“They levelled an allegation that I am in favour of Iqbal Abdulla, I wanted to make Iqbal Abdulla as the captain, which is absolutely wrong,” he asserted.
“I was going to make Jay Bista the captain, but Rizwan Shamshad and the other selectors suggested that you make Iqbal the captain he is senior player, has played IPL and is much older…I agreed to their suggestion.”
The leading run-getter in Ranji Trophy also dismissed allegations that he brought Maulvis (Muslim religious scholars) to the team’s training.
“First of all they said the Maulavis came there in a bio-bubble and we offered Namaz. Let me tell you one thing, the Maulavi, Maulana, who came on two or three Fridays during the camp in Dehradun, I had not called him.
