"Kept Knocking The Door": Wasim Jaffer Says Came Close To International Comeback

Former India Test cricketer Wasim Jaffer reckons that the selectors would be the "best people" to answer why he was not able to make a comeback despite the runs that he racked up at the domestic level. Jaffer, an opening batsman, made his Test debut against South Africa in Mumbai in 2000. He scored four and six runs in the first and second innings respectively as India lost the match by four wickets. Jaffer's dream run came in 2007 when he smashed 838 runs in the calendar year registering three centuries in the longest format of the game.

"In 2012-13, I was very close to getting selected when Shikhar Dhawan got selected. So, I came very close a couple of times but somehow I missed the bus. The selectors are the best people who can answer that but I definitely kept knocking the door," said Jaffer at SportsTiger's show "Off the Field".

Jaffer, who has one of the best domestic records in Indian cricket with over 19,000 runs to his name playing in 260 first-class games at an average of 50.67 and the best score of 314, feels that he was not consistent enough especially at the international level.

"I wasn't that consistent. If I was, I would have played more than 100 Test matches. I was not that consistent at the international level that is why I got dropped," said Jaffer.

"I am famous for my first-class career more than the international cricket that I have played," he added.

Earlier this year, Jaffer announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, putting a hold on his two-decade-long cricketing career.

In 31 Tests, he scored 1944 runs at an average of 34.11 with 11 fifties and five centuries. He is one of the few Indian batsmen who has a double hundred in the West Indies. He made 212 against the hosts in St Lucia.

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