Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has appointed former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer as the head coach of the senior men’s team for the upcoming domestic season. Wasim Jaffer has been unanimously elected as the head coach of the Punjab state team, replacing former Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait.

Although the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) is yet to formally announce Jaffer’s appointment, PCA secretary Dilsher Khanna confirmed to the Times of India: “Wasim will be our head coach this season. He brings a lot of experience both as a player and a coach. We won the Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the first time last season and we want to build on that success.”

Jaffer will coach the third domestic team after Uttarakhand and Odisha. 46-year-old Jaffer was the batting coach of Punjab Kings from 2019-2021. He will replace former Mumbai and India fast bowler Avishkar Salvi, who has joined the National Cricket Academy and is currently the bowling coach of the Indian women’s team.

Why was Wasim Jaffer included in the board

PCA president Amarjit Singh said Jaffer’s experience and expertise will lead the team to success. He said the PCA would never miss an opportunity to work with him.

“Our main aim is to win the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. So we have unanimously decided to appoint him as the head coach. We are confident that Zafar will lead the team to success with his experience and expertise. He is one of the best long-term players in the country and we did not want to miss the opportunity to bring him on board.”

The PCA president stressed that Punjab has performed well in white-ball cricket recently and now wants to focus on achieving consistency in red-ball cricket. Jaffer will try to further improve the performance of Punjab, which won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season.

Wasim Jaffer is the highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy history. He has scored 12,038 runs in 238 innings of the tournament in his career. The former right-handed batsman has led Mumbai state to two Ranji titles in 2008-09 and 2009-10. He has also led the Western Zone to win the Duleep Trophy in early 2010.