10 Interesting facts about Mohammad Kaif

10 Interesting facts about Mohammad Kaif: Mohammad Kaif was one of the best fielders at his time and is known to have a great athletic form and remarkable throwing skills. His performance on the Under-19 level got him noticed at a very early age and thus paved his way into the national team. He represented India’s national team at the Test and ODIs from 2002 to 2006. His leadership qualities and team spirit got him to great places. Though he did not feature in an international match since 2006, he was a part of the Sourav Ganguly-led, team that changed many things in Indian cricket.

1. Born on:

Mohammad Kaif was born in a Khatana Gurjar family on 1 December 1980 in Allahabad India.

2. Family of cricketers:

His father Mohammad Tarif played for Uttar Pradesh and the Railways. His brother Mohammad Saif plays for Madhya Pradesh cricket team and Uttar Pradesh cricket team.

3. Personal life:

He is married to Pooja Yadav who is a Noida based journalist. They got married on 25 March 2011 in a very private ceremony. The two met through common friends and dated for 4 years before tying the knot.

4. Major caps:

Mohammad Kaif played for India, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra cricket team, Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, India Red, Leicestershire, Rajasthan Cricket Association President’s XI, The Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

5. A real leader:

He led the Indian Under-19 team to victory winning the U-19 World Cup 2000. He was also the captain of the central zone and Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket.

6. Political touch:

Mohammad Kaif joined the Indian National Congress and contested 2014 Loksabha election from Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh but ultimately lost to Keshav Prasad Maurya of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

7. The start:

He started his career from Green Park Hostel. Since then there was no looking back for this right-handed batsman and he went on to represent India in Tests, ODIs and played domestic cricket for Uttar Pradesh from 1998 till 2014.

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8. International career:

Kaif was selected in the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. He made his Test debut in 2000 against South Africa. He was one of the best fielders in the Indian team of that time, along with Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj would be positioned at point and Kaif in the covers, and it was a tough task for the opposition to breach their defence and score past this pair; the standard of Indian fielding improved significantly when they were on the field.

9. Strengths:

He is known to be a very fast runner between the wickets and an excellent fielder at cover. He also has a good track record of direct hits to the stump from the cover position, notable, as only one stump would be fully visible.

10. Achievements:

His most famous achievement was helping India chase 326 with 87 runs off 75 balls in the Natwest series in 2002. That earned him the Man of the Match award. He also won the Man of the series title against Bangladesh for his consistent performance in late 2004.