Mohammad Kaif
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| Born |
1 December 1980 Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right arm off break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations |
Mohammad Tarif (Father) Mohammad Saif (Brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 228) | 2 March 2000 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 30 June 2006 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 142) | 28 January 2002 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 29 November 2006 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2014 | Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Andhra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Rajasthan Royals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Kings XI Punjab | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Chhattisgarh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mohammad Kaif (
He is regarded as one of the best fielders in the Indian cricket team owing to his great athletic and throwing skills. He retired from all formats of cricket on 13 July 2018.[2]
Personal life
Kaif was born in a Muslim family on 1 December 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He started his career from Green Park Hostel, Kanpur.[3] His father Mohammad Tarif played for the Railways cricket team and the Uttar Pradesh cricket team .[4] His brother Mohammad Saif plays for Madhya Pradesh cricket team & Uttar Pradesh cricket team.[5]
Kaif married Puja Yadav,[6] a Noida based journalist, on 25 March 2011.[7]
Early days
As of July 2005, Kaif was one of only five cricketers from Uttar Pradesh to have made it to the national side.[8] In 2009, the Indian team was well represented by Uttar Pradesh with as many as three regulars, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar and Rudra Pratap Singh in the ODI team. He was the captain of both Central Zone and Uttar Pradesh. He also captained the national ODI team in the 2005/06 Challenger Trophy in the absence of regular captain Rahul Dravid.
International career
Test debut
Kaif made his Test debut in 2000 against South Africa in Bangalore soon after, and was selected in the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.[9]
His early international career was considered patchy, with the occasional outstanding performance backed up by ordinary batting. His most famous feat was helping India chase down 326 with 87* (off 75 balls) in the 2002 NatWest Series Final. The effort earned him his first Man of the Match award.
In the series against Bangladesh in late 2004, he was named Man of the Series award for his consistency in all the three ODIs.
Kaif earned himself a Test cap against South Africa when he was at a very young 20 years age. Although dropped after some ordinary performances, he made a good comeback to the Test side against Australia late in 2004 scoring two half-centuries. He is a very fast runner between the wickets and an excellent cover fielder; most notably his agility and throwing accuracy.
He also holds the record for the most number of catches by a fielder in a World Cup match –> FOUR (against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup at Johannesburg on 10 March 2003).
Middle Order
The team management tend to use him in the middle order, though his successes have almost always come playing high up – at number 3 rather than at number 7. He tends to score big when given the time to settle. His usual position in domestic games and in county cricket has been number 3. But given the number of players in that mould, such as Dravid, Raina and Yuvraj, Kaif found it difficult to play at the number 3 spot on a consistent basis. With the arrival of Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid being appointed captain, the number 3 slot was given to either Irfan Pathan or Mahendra Singh Dhoni to accelerate the scoring rate.
In March 2006, he was recalled to the Test team in place of the injured Yuvraj Singh for the First Test against England in Nagpur. Despite top-scoring with a dogged 91 to save the Test match, he was omitted for the following match when Yuvraj had recovered his fitness. But he found a place in the four Tests in the West Indies, after Sachin Tendulkar was injured. He hit 148 not out in the second Test, his maiden Test century.
In late 2006, he was dropped from the ODI team and Test squad. In April 2008, he was recalled to the Test squad for the Second Test against South Africa, but did not play.
Best Fielder
He was one of the best fielders in the Indian cricket team, along with Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj would be positioned on point and Kaif in the covers, and it was a tough call for the opposition to score past this pair; the standard of Indian fielding improved significantly when they were on the field. Unfortunately, many times Kaif couldn't be in the "playing 11" as Yuvraj served the purpose of an all-rounder and was a senior player in the team. Kaif also has an excellent track record of direct hits to the stump from the cover position, notable as only one stump would be fully visible.
Domestic career
Kaif represented the victorious Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008. He was bought for $685,000USD as an iconic player. Even though he played in all the matches for the team, he had a poor run in the series, mustering only 176 runs at an average of 16. On 15 April 2009, he was axed by Rajasthan Royals team management, which cited his poor form and cost-cutting for the omission from the squad for the 2009 season.[10]
Kaif was bought for $250,000USD by Kings XI Punjab to play in 2010 Indian Premier League.[11]
Kaif was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore to play in 2011 Indian Premier League, in the third round of bidding. He was the only player was requested to appear for bidding for the third time. Later in an interview, Subrata Roy of Sahara India stated that he requested a third round of bidding because he thought that Kaif should find a place in an IPL team.
Coaching career
In February 2017, Gujarat Lions named Kaif assistant coach of Brad Hodge for 2017 Indian Premier League. Previously, Kaif was in race to be named the head coach of Afghanistan cricket team but lost out to Lalchand Rajput.[12][13]
Beyond cricket
Political career
He joined Indian National Congress and contested 2014 Loksabha election from Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh, and lost to Keshav Prasad Maurya of the BJP.[14]
References
- ↑ Cricinfo. "Mohammad Kaif". Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ↑ The Economic Times (13 July 2018). "Mohammad Kaif announces retirement from competitive cricket". Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ↑ "Mohammad Kaif". Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ↑ "Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – Players – Tarif". Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ "Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – Players – Saif". Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ "MUSLIM HUSBANDS AND HINDU WIVES | Sulekha Creative". Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ↑ "Mohammad Kaif Married a Journalist".
- ↑ Times of India
- ↑ Ramchand, Partab (15 April 2000). "First list of NCA trainees". Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
- ↑ "Kaif axed from RR, Warne blasts ICC | Cricket News". Cricbuzz.com. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ "Kieron Pollard, Shane Bond attract maximum bids at IPL auction | Cricket News | Indian Premier League 2010 | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ Mohammad Kaif appointed Gujarat Lions assistant coach
- ↑ Kaif joins Gujarat Lions as assistant coach
- ↑ "Congress's first list for LS polls: Rahul, Sonia, Nilekani among 194 candidates named". The Times of India. PTI. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
External links
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