Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffar who recently resigned as the Uttarakhand head coach has been accused of favouring Muslim cricketers while holding the position. Jaffar while submitting his resignation alleged that there were ‘interference and bias of selectors and the association’s secretary for non-deserving players.’ It comes as shocking news since Jaffar, a cricketer of this reputation showing Islamist character while choosing team members.
According to reports, Jaffar took Rs 45 lakh to work as Uttarakhand head coach for this season. He had disputes with Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) secretary Mahim Verma and Chief Selector Rizwan Shamshad. Jaffar accused Verma of interfering in the selection of players. But, Jaffar’s allegations were denied by both Mahim Verma and Rizwan Shamshad.
Verma said that he never pressurised Jaffar regarding the selection of players. He told that Jaffar brought in Iqbal Abdulla, Samad Salla and Jai Bista as guest players. Jaffar ignored Kunal Chandela and made Iqbal Abdullah the captain of the team, alleged Verma. However, the team lost four matches out of 5 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament due to his decisions, said Verma.
Mahim Verma, who is a former vice-president of the BCCI, accused Jaffar of trying to break the cricket team due to his religious bias. Verma said that initially they lend full support to Jaffar and accepted his decisions considering that he has scored the maximum runs in domestic cricket.
Verma added that a team was selected on Monday for Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament that starts on February 20 keeping Kunal Chandela as the captain. However, Jaffar submitted his resignation the next day.
Mishra further told that the team has been using the slogan ‘Ram Bhakt Hanuman ki Jai’ since last year but Jaffar got the slogan changed to ‘Go Uttarakhand’ saying that the team had members from different religions. Jaffar was suggested the slogan ‘Uttarakhand ki Jai’ but he had a problem with the word ‘Jai’, he added.
Verma further alleged that Jaffar used to bring a Maulvi during the camp. Navneet Mishra, who has been team manager during Mushtaq Ali trophy reportedly said that three Maulvis had visited the camp. He said that Jaffar told him that the Maulvis had come to read Namaz.
Recently, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan in his tweet had sidelined with the ‘Andolanjeevi gang’ by bringing in George Floyd’s name to state that the protests against the new farm bills had an international dimension. He tweeted, “When George Floyd was brutally murdered in the USA by a policeman, our country rightly expressed our grief. #justsaying”.
In a shocking video which is making rounds on social media, former Pakistan skipper Injamam Ul Haq reveals that he along with Wasim Jaffar and Saqlain Mushtaq invited non-Muslim cricketers to join Islam while playing in England. This revelation against Jaffar of promoting Islam while wearing the jersey of the Indian cricket team is serious and needs a higher level of investigation by the Indian cricket authorities.
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