By Stanley Billa 
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer has been appointed as the mentor of the Hyderabad cricket team ahead of the 2026-27 domestic season.The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) on Wednesday confirmed that Jaffer would take over as the coach of senior teams and several age group teams, for a period of two years.
It is a notable step towards fortifying Hyderabad’s domestic cricket infrastructure. Sources also indicate that the former India batsman has been instrumental in securing Jaffar’s appointment from the HCA’s end, with Ambati Rayudu having been recently appointed Head of Cricket Operations for HCA. Rayudu was eager to have an experienced domestic cricket figure at the helm and believes Jaffer’s incredible track record along with his grip on the Indian domestic circuit will strengthen the side.
Jaffer is one of the all-time greats of Indian domestic cricket. He is a 10-time Ranji Trophy champion and the highest run-scorer in all time history of Ranji trophy. Hyderabad will be looking to him for on-field inspiration across the teams given his winning experience.
Jaffer has built an impressive coaching resume since he retired from professional cricket in 2020. Earlier he had been involved with domestic teams like Vidarbha, Uttarkhand, Odisha and Punjab. Besides, he also worked as a consultant batting coach for Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) as well as being included in the coaching staff of Punjab Kings in Indian Premier League (IPL).
This was not a home season that Hyderabad were lucky to have in the 2025-26 domestic season. It ended the Ranji Trophy group stage in fourth, with only one outright win from seven matches as it missed out in qualification for the knockout stage. They also crashed out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy during the league phase.
In contrast, Hyderabad did perform well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy narrowly missing out on making it to the final. Haryana advanced on superior net run rate after finishing the league stage at 38 points to the team’s.
This is part of a bigger overhaul being led by new HCA chief Rayudu. On June 1 Ganguly took office and in that time the association has got a number of things lined up to improve the standard of cricket in the region. Some of these developments include the establishment of Telangana T20 League, an 8-team franchise competition currently taking place (and ending on July 12), as well as extensive plans to improve cricket infrastructure in various districts under HCA’s administration.
Feckless in finding and nurturing talent, Hyderabad has been hoping Jaffer can help cement a stronger pathway as they bid to turn their fortunes around across all formats for 2021.