Mohammad Kaif
Source: [1], 27 May 2006 |
Mohammed Kaif (born December 1, 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Muslim family) is an Indian cricketer, more specifically a middle-order batsman. He is a tall and thinly-built cricketer who made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the Indian team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. He can be both defensive and aggressive, as variable strike rates in Test and ODI cricket suggest. In full flight, he can be great to watch, like Mohammad Azharuddin, he can find the gaps on the on-side.
His early international career was patchy, with the occasional outstanding performance backed up by ordinary batting. His most famous feat was helping India chase down 326 with a marvellous 87* (off only 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 for his consistency in all the three ODIs. Kaif earned himself a Test cap against South Africa when he was 20. Although dropped after some ordinary performances, he made a good comeback to the Test side against Australia late in 2004 scoring two gritty half-centuries. He is a very fast runner between the wickets and an excellent cover fielder; most notably his agility and throwing accuracy.
The team management tend to use him in the middle order, though his successes have almost always come playing high up - at number 3 or 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 7. But given the number of players in that mold, such as Dravid, Raina and Yuvraj, Kaif has found it difficult to play at the number 3 spot on a consistent basis. With the arrival of Greg Chappel and in particular, Rahul Dravid being appointed captain, the number 3 slot has become a bonus and is filled either by Irfan Pathan or Mahendra Singh Dhoni. These two players consistently come in at number and pick up the scoring rate. The team management have also sent out signals that every player in the middle order has to be dynamic and flexible to allow the team to react quickly to the given match situation. Given this scenario, Kaif, faces more uncertainty than ever. While Yuvraj has at times excelled in the death overs with his power, Kaif tends to stick to the quick running and occasional boundary. He has in his own way however become indispensable to the one day team.
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. Given the changes in the middle order of late, such as Ganguly being dropped and Laxman's place not being cemented, Kaif is next in the pecking order ahead of Suresh Raina.
According to the Times of India, as of July 2005, he is one of only five cricketers from Uttar Pradesh to have made it to the national side. Although he is not yet a regular member of the Test side, he is often viewed as a potential future captain, as he is the current 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.