Having retired recently following a prolific first-class career, Wasim Jaffer opened up on his journey, the shortened Test career and also the pain of never making an India comeback despite piling on runs at a level beneath. 

Jaffer played more than 250 first-class games, including 31 Tests, and scored over 20,000 runs playing for India, Mumbai and Vidarbha before calling it quits earlier this month. 

Read Also: Sunil Gavaskar applauds Wasim Jaffer as he bids farewell to the game

"I think I had a lot of chances (of India return). I came very close to those chances. But unfortunately, the comeback didn’t happen," Jaffer told cricket.com. "This happens with most cricketers, not just me. They feel they deserve to be there but do not get the opportunity because unfortunately somebody else is there to pick you and they decide certain things. But to be honest I have taken all that in my stride. I am a firm believer in destiny."

As a domestic stalwart, Jaffer left the field seeing Indian cricket in pink of health, with the depth of talent available certainly better than ever. But the 42-year-old also feels performances at the domestic first-class level aren't as well recognised as they should be, especially as knocks and spells in the IPL fetch youngster's instant attention. 

"I think the time has changed. Even in my time I feel a lot of players like Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxman, I don’t think they got their value," Jaffer said. "A player playing with them in a Test match knows how important those players are. But you know we have to go with the time. A lot of importance is given to T20 cricket."

"The people who are in marketing business or advertising business want somebody who is seen more on the TV, somebody who is glamorous or someone who plays the brand of cricket the crowd likes."

“But you can’t devalue someone who plays T20 cricket because that’s the demand of the game nowadays. What I feel is, in today’s age and day, the cricketer needs to adapt himself to all three formats," added the man, who will be joining Kings XI Punjab's coaching staff as batting coach for this year's edition of the IPL. 

"You can’t just play Test cricket or you can’t just play T20 cricket. You will be recognised and respected only if you fit in all three formats. I am not saying Pujara is not respected, but then obviously he is going to play only Test cricket and no other format."

(Inputs from cricket.com)