Former India opener Wasim Jaffer appointed ‘mentor’ of Hyderabad Cricket Association

Mumbai: Former India and Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer has been appointed mentor of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Jaffer, widely regarded as a colossus of Indian domestic cricket in the red ball format, will guide the Hyderabad team for the next two seasons. With 19,410 runs in 260 first-class@50.67, including 57 hundreds and 91 fifties, during a glittering 24-year career between 1996 and 2020, Jaffer is the top-scorer in Indian domestic cricket history, and also holds the record for being highest run-getter in the history of the Ranji Trophy, having amassed 12,038 runs in 238 innings in the tournament during his epic career.

The 48-year-old represented India in 31 Tests, scoring 1,944 runs with five centuries and 11 half-centuries.

The significant appointment comes months after former India cricketer and local hero Ambati Rayudu was named Head of Cricket Operations at the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

“Yes, we’ve appointed Jaffer as the ‘mentor’ of HCA for a period of two years. He will decide on the appointment of the support staff of the team, including the head coach, in consultation with (former India batsman) Ambati Rayudu. who is the head of the HCA's cricket operations. He will get complete freedom to operate on the cricketing activities of Hyderabad, in terms of coaching, training, fitness, everything. He was a great player, but it was his fine track record as a coach with various state teams that convinced us to get him to the HCA. Rayudu, of course, played a big role in deciding as Wasim's appointment as our team's mentor. We are very hopeful and positive that under Wasim, we'll see that the discipline and cricketing activity of Telangana will improve quite a lot in the next two years. We're focusing developing cricketing infrastructure in the rural areas, and Wasim will be helpful to doing so," HCA secretary Jeevan Reddy told TOI on Monday.

“As a ‘mentor,’ Wasim will play a key role in strengthening the cricketing ecosystem across Telangana. He will work closely with HCA in identifying and nurturing young talent, conducting high-performance coaching camps, mentoring coaches, and supporting the development of players from the grassroots to the elite level. Wasim’s vast experience as an international cricketer and successful coach will greatly benefit Telangana’s young cricketers. His guidance will help build a strong pipeline of future players capable of representing Hyderabad, Telangana, and India,” Reddy said.

Jaffer confirmed to this paper that he had accepted the role.

Jaffer has become an experienced coach by now. He was the head coach of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Odisha and, last season, served as the batting consultant to the Vidarbha team. He has also worked with the Bangladesh Under-19 team as their batting consultant and was with the Punjab Kings in the IPL as their batting coach from 2019-23.

Hyderabad, two-time Ranji Trophy champions (1937-38 and 1986-87), have declined as a force in domestic cricket in recent years. They finished fourth in Elite Group D of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 competition, they topped Elite Group B but finished second in Super League Group B, missing out on the final on NRR to eventual runners-up Haryana. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, they finished sixth in Group B and failed to make the cut for the quarterfinals.