Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer, who recently quit as Uttarakhand coach owing to a dispute with the state association, on Wednesday rejected allegations by the body's officials that he tried to force religion-based selections in the team. (More Cricket News)
The 42-year-old, who played 31 Tests for India and is a celebrated name in domestic cricket, said the charge that he favoured Muslim players,✤ which was levelled by Cricket Association of Uttarakhand secretary Mahim Verma i꧂n a media report, had caused him immense pain.
Jaffer resigned on Tuesday citing "interference and bias ofℱ selectors and the association's secretary for non-deserving players" as the reason.
"...jo communal angle laga🅘ya (the communal angle that has been brought up), that is very, vꦛery sad," Jaffer said in a virtual press conference.
"They levelled an allegation that I am in favour of Iqbal Abdulla, I wanted to make Iqbal Aౠbdulla as the capta⛦in, which is absolutely wrong," he asserted.
"I was going to make Jayꦐ Bista the captain, but Rizwan Shamshad and the other selectors suggested that you make Iqbal the captain… he is senior pla༒yer, has played IPL and is much older...I agreed to their suggestion."
The leading run-getter in Ranji Trophy also dismissed allegat♏ions that h൩e brought Maulvis (Muslim religious scholars) to the team's training.
"First of all they said the Maulavis came there in a bio-bubble and we offered Namaz. Let me tell you one thing, the Maulavi, Maulana, who came on two or three Fridays during the camp💝 in Dehradun, I had not called him.
"It was Iqbal Abdulla (Uttarakhand player) who sought mine and the manager's permission only for the Friday prayer," he said r⛄eferring to the 31-year-old all-rounder, who has competed in the IPL but hasn't played for India yet.
According to Jaffer, prayers took place after the team's training and he cannot underst🌠and why it has become an issue.
"While we do our daily prayers in the room, the Friday prayers have to be done in a gathering so he thought it would be better if someone comes over to✱ facilitate...An💧d we did the namaz in the dressing room for five minutes after the nets.
"If I was 👍communal, I could have adjusted the practice timings according to our prayer timings but that's n🌞ot the way I am," he added.
"...what is a big thing in i🌼t, I don't understand.🃏"
Jaffer was♈ appointed as the head coach of ♍the state team in June 2020. He had signed a one-year contract with CAU.
Utta💫rakhand won only one out of th🍬eir 5 matches in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
