India domestic news – Wasim Jaffer appointed Hyderabad’s mentor ahead of 2026-27 season

Hyderabad have appointed Wasim Jaffer, the former India batter, as a mentor ahead of the 2026-27 domestic season. Jaffer’s appointment will be for a two-year period, during which he will work with both the senior and age-group teams.

Jaffer’s coming on board is largely believed to be down to Ambati Rayudu’s insistence on signing a pedigreed domestic Indian coach. Rayudu, recently appointed as Hyderabad’s head of cricket operations, believes Jaffer – a 10-time Ranji Trophy winner and the highest run-getter in the competition’s history – would bring a “winning mindset.”

Since his retirement in 2020, Jaffer has worked with a number of domestic teams, most notably Vidarbha, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Punjab. He has also been a consultant batting coach with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Punjab Kings in the IPL.

Hyderabad finished fourth in their group, managing just one outright win in seven matches, during the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. They didn’t make it past the group stages during the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy either, but fared much better in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, where Haryana pipped them for a berth in the final on net run rate.

Jaffer’s appointment is one of several moves the Rayudu-led Hyderabad Cricket Association team has made since coming on board in May. They sanctioned the ongoing Telangana T20 League, an eight-team franchise tournament, that runs until July 12, apart from having earmarked several infrastructure projects across the districts under the HCA’s ambit.

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