Wasim Jaffer announces retirement from all forms of game
Mumbai: Former India opener Wasim Jaffer on Saturday announced retirement from all forms of cricket, drawing curtains on his illustrious career spanning over two decades.
The 42-year-old Jaffer has played 31 Tests and scored 1,944 runs with an average of 34.11. He has five hundreds and 11 fifties in the longest format, with 212 as his highest score.
"First of all, I would like to thank The Almighty Allah, who gave me the talent to play this beautiful game. I'd like to also thank my family - my parents and brothers for encouraging me to pursue the sport as a profession and my wife, who left a cosy life of England to create a lovely home for our children and me," he said in a statement.
"A special thanks to all my coaches, right from my school days to professional cricket, for helping me polish my skills. A heartfelt thanks to the selectors who showed faith in me," added Jaffer, who is the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy.
The veteran opener is also one of the few Indian batsman, who has a double hundred in the West Indies. He made 212 against the hosts in St Lucia.
Jaffer, who made his Test and ODI debut against South Africa in 2006, is, however, remembered for his feats in domestic cricket, particularly the Ranji Trophy.
He became the first batsman to score 12,000 runs in Ranji Trophy, the coveted domestic tournament in India.
The right-handed batsman played for Mumbai for most part of his career and then also represented Vidarbha. He is also the first player to play in 150 Ranji Trophy matches.
"My gratitude to all the captains I played under and all my colleagues from whom I learnt so much about the game and shared some lifelong memories. I would also like to thank all the support staff who were a constant pillar of support in my long journey," said the Mumbaikar.
Known for his stylist shots, especially the cover drives, Jaffer was nemesis of the bowlers, who tormented them with his patient knocks.
He made his first-class debut in 1996-97 season and then went on to score 19,410 runs from 260 matches.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
