End of a long wait

It came as a surprise to many when Wasim Jaffer, who played the last of the seven Tests for India in Trent Bridge in 2002, was picked to replace Sourav Ganguly for the third Test against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad. He had often been overlooked, despite his stupendous domestic record, and Jaffer himself was pleasantly surprised.

"I'm quite surprised that I have been picked to replace Sourav Ganguly," he said after hearing the news. "I didn't expect to be recalled so early but I hope to put my best foot forward if given the opportunity. I'm not going to be looking as far as the Pakistan tour, just want to perform in this Test. I'll try and fulfill whatever roles are handed out to me."

What the selectors had in mind while picking Jaffer, returning to the side after a three-year spell, and whether it was just a back-up option, one will have to wait and watch. But, though he looked out of place in his first two stints, few will resent him being given another chance, after his gluttonous run-scoring on the domestic circuit.

The mountain of runs he accumulated ever since he was dropped - a double-hundred, seven hundreds and an average of close to 53 - was difficult to ignore and a penchant for scoring in the big games would have surely enhanced his case that much more. "I knew I needed to go on scoring consistently at the domestic level," he continued. "It was a frustrating period but there is place for only two openers. No point complaining."

Ever since his mammoth triple hundred in only his second first-class game, Jaffer has always had the tools to build big hundreds. His flowing drives can be a treat to watch, struck on the up with superb timing, but the tendency to play half-cock, with his feet moving neither front nor back, have caused his downfall on a number of occasions. He produced three half-centuries while playing in West Indies and England but his vulnerability against the moving ball cost him. The likes of Pedro Collins and Matthew Hoggard capitalised on this weakness and both dismissed him twice with full-swinging deliveries.

Instead of getting lost in the labyrinth that is Indian domestic cricket, Jaffer went about rectifying his frailties, while ensuring that he didn't compromise on his awesome consistency. He was one of the architects of Mumbai's twin triumphs in the Ranji Trophy: his 83 and 98 under pressure in the 2003 final swung the see-saw battle their way, while his rock-solid 133 in the 2004 final set up a crushing win. He also played a major role in guiding West Zone to the Duleep Trophy recently, managing a hundred and two fifties in three low-scoring games. Around this time last year, when he fell for 7 and 0 in one game, one national daily had a fitting headline - `Jaffer fails ... at last'. It gives you an idea of the sort of zone he was in.

"He is a diligent student of the game and is always looking to improve irrespective of whether he scores a duck or a hundred," said Chandrakant Pandit, the former Indian wicketkeeper who coached Mumbai for three seasons. "He's much more compact with his defence now and is a solid presence at the top of the order, someone who I could always rely upon to give us big totals. Even though he went on scoring and yet didn't get recalled, there was not a moment when he gave up hope.""

At the age of 27, Jaffer has already been through a number of peaks and troughs and this second chance maybe the opening that can catapult him even further. Apart from his joy in being selected, Jaffer was also eagerly anticipating his first meeting with Greg Chappell, someone whom he had deeply admired during his formative years. Just two weeks earlier, as India geared up for their fifth ODI against South Africa at Mumbai, Jaffer, in his characteristically unobtrusive manner, watched them train from the sidelines. Come tomorrow, and he will make the much-deserved transition to the other side.