There was nothing meme-y about former India batsman and Kings XI Punjab batting coach Wasim Jaffer‘s Twitter account, but something changed during IPL 2020. And suddenly, he became a cricketing meme lord.
Jaffer’s Twitter timeline was filled with the usual PR-managed tweets from cricketers – birthday wishes, congratulatory messages, the ‘what a performance’ and ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’ et al.
But then one day, he came up with this.
When the restaurant tells you they're out of biryani. #SaddaPunjab @lionsdenkxip @MdShami11 #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/NtXHD7LkKN
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 1, 2020
And it started.
KXIP saw off Royal Challengers Bangalore in a thriller, and Jaffer found it a perfect occasion to revisit the infamous Ravi Shastri meme, when the India coach, on live television, said “g*ti moo me tha waha pe” – a line best left untranslated. Jaffer exercised subtlety, posting just a screenshot of the Shastri moment without a description – the fans’ imagination went wild, and Jaffer’s stock rocketed up further.
#RCBvKXIP pic.twitter.com/TgkPeDMvSv
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 15, 2020
Thereafter, it was a constant stream of crackers, one after the other. When KXIP beat Mumbai Indians to go within reach of a playspot, he posted a famous screenshot from the Will Smith classic The Pursuit of Happyness.
#MIvsKXIP pic.twitter.com/rvwp5mM8wX
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 18, 2020
After yet another do-or-die win, and out came Feroz Khan’s ‘Abhi hum zinda hain‘ (I’m still alive) meme.
#KXIPvDC pic.twitter.com/KSxQJ7z7iI
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 20, 2020
There was the memester classic of replying to an old tweet; he seemed to have picked it all up pretty fast. Or was he honing the memer inside him all these days? We need answers, Wasim.
#KKRvKXIP https://t.co/QbQNUedxiN pic.twitter.com/KUQWWW4mSD
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 26, 2020
He became a star. So much so that, when he tried going back to old ways of diplomatically praising an opposition team, the Twitterverse demanded memes.
Meme kidhar hai? pic.twitter.com/jhosgGEgg1
— Rippahhh (@141Adelaide) October 27, 2020
So he played along.
When you post a serious tweet, but people only want memes pic.twitter.com/BbWcDgt35l
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 27, 2020
And even when KXIP failed to make the playoffs, his meme spree continued.
#KXIPvsRR pic.twitter.com/6AOvtlxvYg
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 30, 2020
.@KKRiders @rajasthanroyals @ChennaiIPL @lionsdenkxip #MIvSRH #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/FodaEyc2at
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 3, 2020
A seasoned memer by now, Jaffer – with the US elections being the hot topic – didn’t let the break in cricketing action affect the volume of his memes … reach, impressions, and all that.
KXIP WON THIS IPL, BY A LOT! #bidenharis2020 #ipl2020 pic.twitter.com/XEGQryC0kx
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 7, 2020
#USElection2020 #USElections #elections pic.twitter.com/4rjTwtm69K
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 6, 2020
Jaffer, clearly, wasn’t a fan of the new BBL rules as well.
https://t.co/h3P6s3dLnl pic.twitter.com/LUq8GcIBJf
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 16, 2020
When Pakistan announced a 35-strong squad for their tour to New Zealand.
https://t.co/H4V2x8Qmjx pic.twitter.com/uFIAG1RCsJ
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 24, 2020
When Maxwell was going all guns blazing against India in the first ODI in Sydney on Friday, only weeks after a horrendous IPL 2020, in which he failed to clear the ropes even once in 13 matches, he perfectly captured KL Rahul’s mood, something even Maxwell and Jimmy Neesham later joked about.
.@klrahul11 behind the stumps right now#Maxwell #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/R2EO0872uv
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 27, 2020
I apologised to him while I was batting 😂 🦁 🙏 #kxipfriends ❤️
— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) November 28, 2020
He’s also had an answer ready for India’s slow over-rate in the first ODI against Australia.
Being hosts we’ve already qualified for 2023 WC so in short 😉 https://t.co/Dgq63v8mbP pic.twitter.com/4KCVT7fve9
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 27, 2020
And so, we’ve the biggest find, by far, of IPL 2020 – Wasim Jaffer, the meme lord.
#IPL2020 https://t.co/xjA8lbJOfp pic.twitter.com/7Nhvu3CATs
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 11, 2020