Wasim Jaffer played in an era when India's batting was dominated by the Fab 5. For years, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman were the backbone of Indian Test batting, making it extremely tough for any other batter to make their case.

Despite this, Jaffer left an indelible impression, amassing 1944 runs in 31 Tests, including five hundreds and 11 fifties. He hit two double-centuries for India, the first of which was 212 against the West Indies in 2006 and the second of which was 202 against Pakistan at home the following year. Jaffer's century against South Africa in Cape Town in 2007 remains one of his best.

While Jaffer's international career did not reach the heights that his domestic career with Mumbai and Vidarbha did, India's star allrounder Hardik Pandya has stated that the seasoned Mumbai batter was his favorite cricketer as a kid.

While most modern cricketers idolize Tendulkar, Dravid, and Laxman, Pandya grew up idolizing Jaffer, to the point where he ranked the Mumbai veteran above all other legends.

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"Like everyone, I had favourite cricketers. I liked Jacques Kallis, Virat, and Sachin sir. There are so many greats that you can't pick. My favourite cricketer was actually Wasim Jaffer. I used to love watching him bat. Someone I always placed above other legends. Somehow, I used to copy his batting, but I was never able to get his class," Hardik said on the SG podcast.

Hardik explained the benefits of having his brother on and off the pitch in his relationship with Krunal. Both were distinct players as kids, so while there was no sibling rivalry, Hardik and Krunal pushed each other to keep improving.  

"Krunal and I are each other's backbone. We talk cricket, life and a lot of things. If you would have asked me six years before that both you brothers would play for India together, I would take it. 

Krunal and I were completely different cricketers. He was a left-handed batter who could bowl while I used to bowl leg-spin and bat right-handed. He used to bat at 4-5 and I used to bat at No. 3. We never had a rivalry because our roles were always different. I used to play Under-16, he played Under-19. But we were there for each other so make sure we improve in all departments," added Hardik.