Mohammad Kaif is a former Indian cricketer and coach who appeared in Tests and One-Day Internationals. He was included in the national squad based on his accomplishments at the Under-19 level, when he captained India to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000.
Kaif was born on December 1, 1980, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, to a middle-class family. He began his work at Green Park Hostel in Kanpur.
Kaif was one of just five cricketers from Uttar Pradesh state to have represented India at the international level as of July 2005. Uttar Pradesh was highly represented in the Indian squad in 2009, with as many as three regulars, Suresh Raina, RP Singh,and Praveen Kumar, in the ODI team.
He served as captain of both the Central Zone and Uttar Pradesh. In the absence of regular skipper Rahul Dravid, he commanded the national ODI squad in the 2005/06 Challenger Trophy.
His early international career was seen as inconsistent, with the odd exceptional performance followed by average batting. In the 2002 NatWest Series Final, he scored 87* (from 75 balls) to help India chase down 326. He received his first ever Man of the Match award for his efforts.
In late 2004, he was selected Man of the Series for his consistency in all three One-Day Internationals against Bangladesh.
Kaif received his first Test cap against South Africa when he was only 20 years old, however he was quickly discarded from the national team due to his poor performances. Late in 2004, Kaif made a strong comeback to the Test team, scoring two half-centuries against Australia.
He was a speedy runner between the wickets and a great cover fielder, standing out for his agility and throwing precision. He got the record for the most catches by a fielder in a World Cup match, with four against Sri Lanka on March 10, 2003, in Johannesburg.
He was a speedy runner between the wickets and a great cover fielder, standing out for his agility and throwing precision.
In the first season of the Indian Premier League in 2008, Kaif played for the champion Rajasthan Royals. As a famous player, he was purchased for $685,000. Despite playing in all of the team’s matches, he had a terrible series, scoring only 176 runs at an average of 16.
On 15 April 2009, he was fired by Rajasthan Royals club management, who cited his poor form and cost-cutting as reasons for his removal from the squad for the 2009 season.
Kings XI Punjab signed Kaif for $250,000 to participate in the 2010 Indian Premier League. In the third round of bidding, Royal Challengers Bangalore acquired Kaif to participate in the 2011 Indian Premier League. He was the only player who was asked to bid for the third time.
In 13 tests for India, Kaif scored 624 runs at an average of 32.84. Similarly, in the ODIs, Kaif scored 2753 runs in 125 ODIs at an average of 32.01. His highest scores in Tests and ODIs were 148 and 111 respectively.
Kaif currently works with the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals as their assistant Coach. He has contributed a lot to side’s performances in the past two seasons.
Read more: Cricket legends of India All Time
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