Armaan Jaffer, who is the nephew of former India opener Wasim Jaffer, has been removed as a ‘Professional’ player for the upcoming 2025-26 domestic season by the Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP). The decision to cancel his contract comes after the 26-year-old reportedly denied participating in the pre-season fixtures across formats.
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In Jaffer’s place, the Pondicherry management has recruited ex-Mumbai Indians (MI) player Jayant Yadav. Yadav is an experienced name in the domestic circuit and has plied his trade with other IPL teams other than MI like Gujarat Titans (GT) and Delhi Capitals (DC)
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Armaan, who played for India U19 in the 2016 World Cup, had prioritised playing in the UK for Whiston Cricket Club in the Yorkshire Champions League. This prompted Thalaivan, a Pondicherry selector, to write an email addressing the cricketer and his father.
According to TOI, the contents of the email read, “Arman, We had informed you and your father on several occasions that it was important for you to participate in both the one-day and multi-day inter-state tournaments in Pondicherry. “When senior cricketers from across other state teams have made themselves available, it is surprising that you have chosen to give priority to club cricket in the UK over these crucial inter-state pre-season preparatory matches. As already conveyed, we selectors have therefore decided to move forward with an alternate player. Accordingly, our offer to engage you as one of the guest players stands withdrawn.”
Armaan was directed to report prior to the start of the Inter-State One-Day Tournament, which was being held in Pondicherry from August 10.
Responding to the Juy 22 mail from CAP, Armaan’s father Kalim Jaffer clarified that his son had signed the contract with Pondicherry only after the deal with the English club. Notably, Armaan had sought an NOC from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) back in May to change domestic teams to Pondicherry in the 2025-26 season. However, he had signed with the UK cricket club in February earlier this year.
Defending Armaan’s case, Kalim said, “I requested to CAP that I had just arrived in England, and we were all looking to stay here for one more month. Armaan is newly-married and his wife is also here. Later, Armaan wrote to CAP requesting for some more time before he could return as his club had reached the knockout round of a tournament after 18 years. As a Professional, he is not obligated to play practice matches for Pondicherry.”
Kalim further clarified that Armaan also wrote to the CAP informing them of his return to India and availability for practice games on Aug 26-28 and then Sept 1-3. The former PBKS player had even booked his return ticket accordingly but the CAP cancelled his contract on August 24 after asking for his birth certificate on Aug 22.
