Effective Finisher, Brilliant Fielder And India's Saviour Under Pressure - What Happened To Mohammad Kaif?
Yuvraj fell for 69 but Kaif continued to push on. Eventually, he was unbeaten on 87 as India won by 2 wickets to seal a historic victory. A finisher who thrived under pressure was born.
July 13, 2002. India vs England at Lord's in the Natwest Trophy final. Chasing a target of 326, India were reeling at 146/5 when a young man relatively new to the ODI format and still fresh in international cricket came out to bat. That youngster was none other than Mohammad Kaif. At the other end was another budding talent, barely a couple of years old on the big stage known as Yuvraj Singh.
What followed was one of the best recoveries in Indian cricket history. The duo put on 121 for the sixth wicket. Yuvraj fell for 69 but Kaif continued to push on. Eventually, he was unbeaten on 87 as India won by 2 wickets to seal a historic victory. A finisher who thrived under pressure was born.
A couple of months later he once again came to our rescue. India were reeling at 87/5 vs Zimbabwe in the Champions Trophy. Kaif first put on 117 runs with Rahul Dravid (71) before an unbroken stand of 87 followed with Anil Kumble, whose contribution was just 18. Kaif finished with 111 not out and India went on to win by 14 runs.
Then came the 2003 World Cup. It was a crucial game vs England in the group stage and India needed early wickets. Kaif's epic dive to hit the stumps that ran out Nick Knight is hailed by many at par with Jonty Rhodes breaking the wickets to run out Inzamam-ul-Haq in 1992. In the same tournament, he once again proved to be our saviour when India were reeling at 21/3 vs New Zealand and his unbeaten 68 in a partnership of 124 with Rahul Dravid (53*) sealed the deal for the Men in Blue.
Great finisher, quick runner, awesome fielder and also the man who led us to victory at the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. Yuvraj Singh was also in that time. MS Dhoni had narrowly missed out on a place in the squad. So what happened to Kaif? How did such a brilliant talent slowly fade into oblivion?
Between 2002 and 2004 he was the backbone of our middle order. But by the time 2005 was ending, Kaif was struggling for consistency. He lost his place in the Test side, which he never really established himself in and in late 2006 was no longer in the scheme of things for the selectors in ODIs either. When he found his name missing in the squad for the 2007 World Cup, the writing was on the wall.
Nonetheless, Kaif continued in domestic cricket. After representing home state Uttar Pradesh for 16 years, he moved to Andhra in 2014 before turning up for Chhattisgarh in 2016. In 2018 he announced his retirement from all forms of the game.
Between 2008 and 2013, he also represented Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. In 2008 he did find a place in the Test squad for the home series vs South Africa but did not get to play.
That's Kaif for you, once our best middle-order ODI batsman who more often than not delivered when the chips were down.