Rohit needs to fire in matches that matter: Wasim Jaffer

India cricketer and Ranji run machine Wasim Jaffer spoke to dna exclusively about his injury, Mumbai's poor performance in 2014-15 Ranji season, India's chances at the World Cup and the importance of strong techniques in the age of T20. The Ranji veteran, also known as the 'Ranji Bradman' is currently nursing an index finger injury.

1. What went wrong with Mumbai's campaign in the Ranji Trophy this year?

Mumbai cricket is in a transitional phase. Senior players like Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rohit Sharma are playing for the Indian cricket team and others like Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan and Ankeet Chavan (involved in IPL match-fixing scam) are all not around. So, the team has changed quite a bit in the last two-three years. When you lose out so many quality players it is hard to find replacement.

We played very badly at the start of our campaign. I was quite happy with the way we played after getting into rhythm as we progressed further in the tournament. We lost to Jammu and Kashmir. It had been a rough, bumpy ride until we played Tamil Nadu. After that we played Baroda at home and took the first innings lead from Karnataka. We beat Delhi who are much stronger side on paper compared to Mumbai. We played a good game against Karnataka in the semifinals but the first innings batting collapse cost us the game. However, we still gave a tough fight.

We have talent in the Mumbai team. The performances of Siddhesh Lad, Shardul Thakur have been exceptional. I see Shardul playing for India very soon. He bowled his heart out and consistently played 10 games picking up close to 50 wickets. He has not missed a single game which reflects his level of fitness and hard work. We found a good player in Akhil Herwadkar.  Aditya Tare and Harmeet Singh have also been good for us. If we persist with this team for another one, two years then we'll get good results. They need to play together just like how Karnataka did where the team stuck around, played together and are now reaping rewards. The average age of Mumbai players is 23-24 and they have a good 8-10 years of cricket left in them.

2. Mumbai is known for playing long innings owing to its strong batting line-up. We are now seeing a it collapse regularly. Is T20 to blame?

Cricket has changed over the years due to T20. Players as young as belonging to the u-14, u-15 category are playing T20 nowadays. It is very difficult to coach them. To tell them not to play shots in the air or any other risky shots is not possible because in that format one needs to score runs. If you ask them to adopt defensive play then they are being taught the wrong thing at the wrong time. You need to maintain a balance while playing across varied formats. Players like Kohli (Virat), (David) Warner, AB de Villiers, Sangakkara (Kumar) play brilliantly in all three formats. We need to teach our young cricketers how to maintain the right balance since we play a lot of attacking cricket these days. They need to know to the kind of shots to be played as per the situation. Cricket has changed and asking budding cricketers to play cricket of the 60s and 70s is not possible in this day and age.

3. In the age of T20, how important do you think is the role of coaching in making players technically sound?

Technique plays an important role in almost everything that we do. That's why the basics need to be strong which is what will help you survive in any format of the game and score runs. But if the technique is only faulty then your shortcomings will come to the fore after you reach the top level. That is why it is necessary to tell the youngsters in the u-14, u-16, u-19 level that apart from playing shots it is important to have a strong technique.
In a junior-level coaching set-up all these things matter. After that if you get down to playing at Ranji trophy-level then it becomes difficult to change the technique after getting that far. Even legends like Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar have been so successful because they have had amazing and strong techniques which has helped them adapt so well across formats.

4. What are your future plans? Will you be playing the Mushtaq Ali trophy?

No. I am not playing because I don't play in the IPL so it's unfair that because of me a youngster has to sit out of the team. The game of T20 suits the youngsters more so it makes more sense to give a young lad a chance to prove himself, someone who can go ahead and play for Mumbai for long. Its a better call to bring in fresh talent and give these guys chances. I will be taking a break from T20. More or less the season is over because of the injury and it is unfortunate but can't be helped.

5. Talking about Indian team in World Cup, do you think Rohit Sharma will be able to get runs against big teams?

It is unfair to say that. In the first match of the Tri-Series against Australia he scored a century and after that unfortunately picked up an injury. Rohit is that kind of a player who goes big after he starts and converts that into a century. He has got two double 100s and a big double 100. So you know the calibre of such a player. I just hope that he makes a good start. We all know that he has not performed equivalent to the talent he possesses. But once he gets going, then he's a treat to watch. He needs to fire in matches that matter and he is a game changer.

6. Why do you think India has been suddenly performing so well after a poor Tri-Series and a disappointing tour of Australia

For the two, three months that India was in Australia that has largely benefited us. Playing in those conditions our players have got acclimatised. I believe India has not performed that bad (in Tests on tour of Australia).

We could have squared the Test series and were in a winning position a few times. If not more then them, then we've also scored an equal number of runs. Kohli, Ajinkya, Murali Vijay have put up some great performances. We matched them. If India would have won the Tri-Series and spoilt the World Cup then it would be shameful. That's exactly what you want from the team that when the time to perform was ripe the entire team delivered. Just three good days starting from the quarterfinals and we are world champions again.

They've beaten big teams like South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies easily so that says a lot about the Indian team. They've proved everybody wrong. Who cares about Tri-Series? World Cup is of importance. India never looked like they will lose any game going by their current form.

The same happened before the 2003 World Cup where we lost the series to New Zealand but those conditions trained us well and we were the second best team after Australia. Tough conditions are bound to help you. Playing India at home will be difficult after they have played in tough overseas conditions and visiting teams will find it difficult against us.

7. How do you think the young cricketing talent in Mumbai will benefit from the Red Bull Campus Cricket initiative and what do you feel about the current coaching standards?

Red Bull's initiative is good. It helps college students. School kids get to play a lot of matches and tournaments. Those who are ambitious about playing cricket at the top it starts from school. But somehow those who start playing late, are keen on doing well academically and want to pursue their ambition so this initiative works well for such kind of players.

I personally know of players who have started playing cricket late (in college). These are the players who have not played in u-16, u-19 age groups but played at the university level and made their way to top flight cricket. Red Bull Cricket Campus allows you to pursue academics as well as the sport. Besides if you are good at it then you get to travel abroad and face colleges/universities there. Like last year where the team from India played at the iconic Oval ground. Siddhesh Lad, Shardul Thakur and KL Rahul are all products of this initiative. With the kind of exposure the young players are getting through this initiative it is totally worth it.

When in school the grades don't matter much before their matriculation. Once they enter college they become more serious and decide what to do- whether to excel at academics or the sport. If you are not playing then this will allow you to show your skills and talent and even gain recognition which might open up a way for you.