''Valthaty need to work harder for a Ranji cap'' says Wasim Jaffer

MUMBAI: He may have come from nowhere and set the IPL alight, but there is still some way for King's XI, Punjab opener, Paul Valthaty to go before he convinces the wise men on his 'home turf ' that he is good enough to play first class cricket. 


Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer says he is "very happy" for the "talented" Valthaty but he needs to cross the bridge before he can be considered good enough to represent the domestic powerhouse inRanji Trophy. 

"This performance will help him. He has made those runs against quality bowling and I'm sure the selectors will keep that in mind. However, you can't judge someone for first class cricket based on performance in T20 games. It's a different format. He has to do well in tournaments like the Times Shield and prove himself," Jaffer told TOI during a promotional event on Saturday. 

Summarizing Valthaty's early cricketing years, Jaffer said: "He was a good cricketer at the under-19 level. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury and then had a few lean years, where he was in and out of the Mumbai teams. The IPL gives an unknown player the chance and Valthaty capitalized on the opportunity. I am really happy for him." 

If Valthaty had the talent, why did it take so long to emerge and that too in IPL? Jaffer explains: "He plays T20 and one-dayers for Mumbai. He has always played the odd remarkable innings in Times Shield ( Air India), and then would have a lean run. He was very inconsistent. However, with age people do mature and he has become better." 

With rumours of several seniors wanting to skip the Windies tour doing the rounds, Jaffer is himself "hopeful," of getting a recall. The discarded opener has scored heavily in domestic cricket ever since he was left out. Despite Mumbai's early exit, Jaffer hit 728 runs in eight games @80.88, with four hundreds to boot. His runs though came while batting in the middle-order. "I'm available," he said with a smile.