Wasim Jaffer’s nephew Armaan makes a comeback in the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad

Armaan Jaffer, the 20-year-old nephew of the Indian domestic cricket giant, Wasim, was recalled for Mumbai’s next Ranji Trophy encounter with Gujarat starting at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Armaan’s return was all the more facilitated by his recent triple hundred scored against Saurashtra for Mumbai U23 side at the same venue. The youngster has played three Ranji Trophy matches so far and all of them were in the 2016 season.

The talented right-hand batsman will be eager to make the most of the opportunity for he was out of action for 15 months because of a ligament tear in his knee. However, he made his comeback a memorable one by slamming a 367-ball 300 in just the second game and the knock included 26 fours and 10 fours. The batsman averages seven in first-class cricket and 27 in the T20s (he has played in just one).

Selectors happy with Armaan’s progress

Mumbai selectors led by former India all-rounder Ajit Agarkar is hopeful about the youngster. Speaking to Times of India on Monday, he said: “We’re happy for the way he’s progressed and scored runs after suffering an injury. He was injured last year, but having played for Mumbai, he was always in the scheme of things. He’s a talented batsman, but was out due to injury. The fact that he’s just stroked a triple-hundred means he’s in form.”

Armaan replaced middle-order batsman Ashay Sardesai in the squad after the latter failed to impress with the bat (84 runs in two matches at an average of 21). Sardesai has been asked to play for Mumbai U23 and Armaan is set to bat at No.5 in the Gujarat game.

The youngster will be looking to make full use of the opportunity after he returns to the Mumbai Ranji squad. In 2016, he was given a break after returning from the U19 World Cup played that year in Bangladesh. But he was dismissed for a duck in his very first innings against Tamil Nadu and it made him lose a bit of confidence, the batsman conceded after hitting his recent triple ton.

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