Former West Indies captain and opener Chris Gayle till Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 was playing for the Punjab Kings (PBKS). While Anil Kumble was the head coach of PBKS, Gayle had his fair share of interactions with assistant coach and former India opener Wasim Jaffer as well.
In recent times, Jaffer has become a superstar for cricket fans thank to his witty social media persona, as much for his match-winning knocks for India. The former Mumbai and Vidarbha batter’s tweets and relatable memes have struck a chord with fans online, with many of his posts frequently creating buzz on social media.
In a recent live online chat with Ankit Wadhwa, co-founder and CEO of cricket digital collectibles platform Rario, Jaffer was asked about his online activities. “I have always been a serious player on the field, and I am an introvert by nature as well. But social media has given me a chance to explore my fun side and hopefully make people laugh in the process,” Jaffer said.
During the online banter with Rario, when a fan asked about his experience of coaching West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle in the IPL, Jaffer was at his witty best. “There isn’t much about T20 batting that I can teach him, he is a legendary player. I can only teach him about upping his social media game, but for that, I will have to show him Indian movies so that he can also create some funny memes,” he said.
A happy Christmas message from our good friend @henrygayle pic.twitter.com/7sPXEeCi3B
— OBI (@OBIProperty) December 10, 2021
Speaking about the appeal of collectibles among cricket fans, Jaffer said, “I have always loved collecting cricket memorabilia. Earlier it used to be autographs of my childhood heroes like Sachin Tendulkar, and later I liked collecting stumps from memorable matches. If I, as a cricketer, get such joy in collecting such mementoes, I can only imagine how thrilling it is for fans. So, I am sure cricket NFTs will soon become a household word.”
Rario is a digital collectible platform for cricket fans to collect and trade cricket moments based on blockchain technology to verify ownership. The platform has signed to exclusively mint NFTs of cricket stars like Rishabh Pant, Zaheer Khan, Smriti Mandhana, Faf Du Plessis, Shakib Al Hasan and Shafali Verma, as well as international cricket leagues like the Caribbean Premier League, Lanka Premier League, and Abu Dhabi T10.
