Mohammad Kaif
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Mohammad Kaif (, born 1 December 1980) is a former Indian cricketer, who played
Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
and ODIs. He made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the India national under-19 cricket team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. With India, Kaif was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka, and he was a member of the team that were runners-up in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He is regarded as one of the greatest Indian fielders. He retired from all formats of cricket on 13 July 2018.


Personal life

Kaif was born in a middle-class family on 1 December 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He started his career from Green Park Stadium,
Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...
. His father Mohammad Tarif Ansari played for the Railways cricket team and the
Uttar Pradesh cricket team The Uttar Pradesh cricket team, formerly United Provinces Cricket Team, is a domestic cricket team which is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, run by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. The team competes in the first-class cricket ...
. His brother Mohammad Saif plays for
Madhya Pradesh cricket team The Madhya Pradesh cricket team formerly known as Holkar cricket team, is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It competes in the Ranji Trophy. History Holkar cricket team A Central India team competed in th ...
and
Uttar Pradesh cricket team The Uttar Pradesh cricket team, formerly United Provinces Cricket Team, is a domestic cricket team which is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, run by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. The team competes in the first-class cricket ...
. Kaif married Pooja Yadav, a
Noida Noida (), short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (ISO: ), is a city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As per provisional reports of Census of India, the population of Noida in 2011 was ...
-based journalist, in 2011. They have 2 children, a son named Kabir and a daughter named Eva.


Early days

As of July 2005, Kaif was amongst the few cricketers from Uttar Pradesh to have represented India on international level. In 2009, the Indian team had as many as three regulars, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar and Rudra Pratap Singh from Uttar Pradesh in the ODI team. Kaif was the captain of both Central Zone and
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
. He also captained the national ODI team in the 2005/06 Challenger Trophy in the absence of regular captain
Rahul Dravid Rahul Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former cricket player, ex-captain and ex-coach of the Indian national cricket team. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely re ...
.


International career

Kaif made his Test debut in 2000 against
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in
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
soon after, and was selected in the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
. 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 In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
award. In the series against
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in late 2004, he was named Man of the Series award for his consistency in all the three
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. Kaif earned himself a Test cap against
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while he was quite young at the age of 20, however he was soon dropped from the national side due to some ordinary performances. Kaif made a good comeback to the Test side against
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late in 2004 scoring two half-centuries. He was a quick runner between the wickets and an excellent cover fielder, most notable for his agility and throwing accuracy. He holds the record for the most catches by a fielder in a
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
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 on number 7. He was often seen scoring more runs while he got some time to settle on the pitch. His usual position in domestic games and in county cricket has been at 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 Rahul Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former cricket player, ex-captain and ex-coach of the Indian national cricket team. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely re ...
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 Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. An all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox, he has won 7 Player of the Se ...
for the First Test against England in
Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...
. 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 scored 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. His techniques of quick running between the wickets whilst rotating the strike but reducing considerable pressure while chasing without even playing much boundaries as well as his ability to break down the chase being in the middle-order has been observed as an adaptation of a similar approach by
Michael Bevan Michael Gwyl Bevan (born 8 May 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer. He played as a left-handed batsman and a slow left-arm wrist spin bowler. For several years, he was considered the world's finest One Day International (ODI) ...
.


Fielding

He was one of the best fielders in the world of cricket, along with
Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. An all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox, he has won 7 Player of the Se ...
. 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.


Domestic career

Kaif represented the victorious Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition of the
Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
in 2008. He was bought for US$685,000 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. Kaif was bought for US$250,000 by Kings XI Punjab to play in 2010 Indian Premier League. 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 requested to appear for bidding for the third time. Later in an interview,
Subrata Roy Subrata Roy (10 June 1948 – 14 November 2023) was an Indian businessman who founded the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar in 1978. Sahara India Pariwar operated a vast number of businesses, such as Aamby Valley City, Sahara Movi ...
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. Mohammad Kaif was drafted for Manipal Tigers in 1st season of Legends League Cricket in 2022. He was retained for 2nd season as well.


Coaching career

In February 2017, Gujarat Lions named Kaif assistant coach of Brad Hodge for
2017 Indian Premier League The 2017 Indian Premier League season (also known as IPL 10 and branded as Vivo IPL 2017) was the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI ...
. He was named the assistant coach for Delhi Capitals for the
2019 Indian Premier League The 2019 Indian Premier League season (also known as IPL 12) was the twelfth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. At one point othe ...
and 2020 Indian Premier League.


Beyond cricket


Political career

He joined
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
and contested 2014 Loksabha election from Phulpur in
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, and lost to Keshav Prasad Maurya of the BJP. After his loss, Kaif left politics. In an interview in 2018, he said that he was not thinking of joining politics and fight elections once again but "you will never say never".


References


External links


Mohammad Kaif – Profile and Stats – Cricbuzz.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaif, Mohammad 1980 births Living people Derbyshire cricketers Indian expatriate cricketers in England India One Day International cricketers India Test cricketers Indian Muslims Leicestershire cricketers Uttar Pradesh cricketers Central Zone cricketers Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Cricketers from Prayagraj Indian cricketers Rajasthan Royals cricketers Punjab Kings cricketers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers India Green cricketers India Red cricketers United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election