Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan back Wasim Jaffer over communal bias controversy
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According to CAU officials (Verma and Mishra), Jaffer demanded a Maulavi inside the bubble to his selection decisions based on communal bias in favour of Muslim players. However, the 42-year-old denied all the allegations levelled at him.
Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble and all-rounder Irfan Pathan have come in support of Wasim Jaffer, who has been accused of communal bias during his tenure as head coach with the Uttarakhand cricket team.
Former India opener resigned from the position on February 9 after Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) secretary Mahim Verma and team manager Navneet Mishra accused Jaffer of creating a communal and religious divide in the dressing room.
Jaffer took to Twitter to reveal the reasons behind him quitting the team. The 42-year-old said that interference and bias of the team's selectors and secretary were the reason behind his resignation. Ever since the tweet, Indian cricket fraternity, including Anil Kumble, have backed Wasim.
"With you Wasim. Did the right thing. Unfortunately it’s the players who’ll miss your mentor ship," Kumble tweeted.
With you Wasim. Did the right thing. Unfortunately it’s the players who’ll miss your mentor ship.
— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) February 11, 2021
According to CAU officials (Verma and Mishra), Jaffer demanded a Maulavi inside the bubble to his selection decisions based on communal bias in favour of Muslim players. However, the 42-year-old denied all the allegations levelled at him.
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan also backed Jaffer.
Unfortunate that you have to explain this.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 11, 2021
In a press conference, Jaffer said: "The allegations which have been made, these are serious allegations... The communal angle that has been levelled against me, that is very very sad, that I come and speak about it... you all know me and have seen me for a long time, so you all know how I am."
"Had I been communal, why would have I brought Jay Bista as a professional? I even wanted to make him the captain. It was the selectors who felt that Iqbal Abdullah was a better candidate for captaincy since he was senior and had played IPL. I agreed with their suggestion.
"This (communal bias) is a serious allegation. And if there was indeed a communal bias, I wouldn't have resigned, they would have sacked me,” he added.