One of the most promising youngsters to break into the Indian national side through the ICC under-19 Cricket World Cup, Mohammad Kaif’s career took off in outstanding fashion. The immensely talented cricketer, hailing from Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh announced himself in front of the national selectors when he led India to the Under 19- World Cup victory in the year of 2000.
Grabbing a million eyeballs as the brightest prospect at that time, Kaif’s major statement as an Indian player roots back to the NatWest final against England in 2002. Kaif’s surreal innings of 87 runs from 75 balls will forever remain fresh in the minds of the Indian cricket fans which provoked the iconic shirt swinging incident by Sourav Ganguly from the Lords balcony.
Batting first, centuries from Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain rode England to a gigantic total of 325 runs in their designated 50 overs. India had a mammoth task in hand but with Sourav Ganguly as the skipper, nothing was impossible. Ganguly paired up with Virender Sehwag and wrecked havoc at Lords as the opening duo hammered the English bowlers all over the park. The skipper led by example with some towering sixes as Virender Sehwag provided the much needed cushion from the other side.
However, the Indian innings witnessed a drastic low with the sudden loss of Ganguly who was cleaned up by Alex Tudor for a score of 60. From 106 for no loss to 146 for 5, the Indian hopes where almost fading away with heavyweights like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid all back in the pavilion. It was then when two youngsters in the name of Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh decided to play the innings of their lives. The duo combined beautifully to put up a 121 run stand at the iconic Lord’s stadium which saw some established English bowlers getting punished by two freshers who were bend towards creating history.
India lost Yuvraj Singh when the scoreboard stood at 267, but Mohammad Kaif took India across the finishing line which almost looked unattainable. July 13, 2002 gave birth to a new star in the block and the future looked secured.
But, a career which showed extreme potential at that point ended only with 13 Test and 125 One Day Internationals in its bag. What was the reason? While some believe it was the dressing room politics that got the better of Mohammad Kaif, while some blame it on Greg Chappell. Well, it was a mixture of both and a lot of other reasons.
Kaif’s contribution to the Indian line up was colossal as his ability to hold partnerships at the middle order brought stability to the team. The highlight of the cricketer was his acrobatic fielding which saved 20-30 runs for the men in blue in every match. With Yuvraj Singh at point and Mohammad Kaif at the covers, the offside almost became a no-scoring zone for the opponents.
However, after falling out of the time, Kaif never made it back into the team. He made it to the list of probables on several occasions but failed to make the final cut. Despite a monumental first class career boasting of 10,229 runs and 186 matches, the perfect team man was ignored each and every time.
Speaking about the same, Mohammad Kaif has himself to blame. “When managements change, so do attitudes. The decision makers who followed Sourav Ganguly and John Wright – coach Greg Chappell and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar – didn’t have the same confidence in me. I came under pressure, and failed. Looking back, I should’ve spoken to them more, rather than just focus on making runs. I suffered due to my reserved nature.” he said.
Kaif also holds Greg Chappell guilty for his massive downfall. “He questioned my fielding technique and it left me so confused that I dropped a catch in the very next game. Chappell created an atmosphere where the players were backbiting about each other rather than focusing on their performances.” added Kaif.
Though the current Indian team is setting high standards on the field day in and day out, the trend was started by Kaif and Yuvraj back in the Sourav Ganguly era. Sourav Ganguly’s contribution to Indian cricket remains unparalleled even today with his pin point scouting. Players like Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh where all picked up by Ganguly and have turned out to be pure gold.
To round it up, Mohammad Kaif’s career as a cricketer may not be a long one, but the NatWest final in 2002 will forever belong to him.
LASTLY – HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOHAMMAD KAIF!
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