Wasim Jaffer named Odisha chief coach ahead of domestic season

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He has been given a two-year contract by the Odisha Cricket Association

Wasim Jaffer also coached the Uttarakhand side in the domestic circuit recently  PTI

Former Test opener and domestic veteran Wasim Jaffer was on Wednesday named chief coach of the Odisha senior side for the upcoming domestic season.

“He [Jaffer] will be the head coach. He has been given a two-year contract,” Subrata Behera, Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) CEO told PTI.

The decision was taken following a meeting of OCA’s Cricket Advisory Committee as Jaffer would replace former state captain Rashmi Parida, who was at the helm for two seasons.

“Besides development of cricket across all age-groups, he [Jaffer] will also be a part of coaches development programme across the state,” OCA secretary Sanjay Behera said in a statement.

This will be Jaffer’s second stint as the head coach of any state team. Following his retirement in March 2020, Jaffer, who is the leading run-scorer in Ranji Trophy, had coached Uttarakhand but he later resigned following a fall-out with the association.

Jaffer, who played 31 Tests and two ODIs, is also the batting coach of the Punjab Kings in the IPL.

The Mumbai stalwart later played for Vidarbha towards the end of his illustrious career winning back-to-back Ranji Trophy and the Irani Cup.

Odisha had last reached the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals in the 2019-20 season when they lost out to Bengal after a draw.

The camp for the senior team is slated to begin from July 25, subject to the state government’s approval keeping in mind the Covid-19 guidelines.

The BCCI announced the return of the Ranji Trophy recently, to be played from November 16, 2021 to February 19, 2022.

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