the real star

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Dhaka: Mohammad Kaif believes that his new batting position has given a fresh lease to his career and the wily youngster is happy to have justified the faith reposed on him by his captain.
The middle order batsman struggled to get the runs in the early stages of the recent World Cup but the team management's decision to promote him to the number four slot midway worked wonders for his confidence.

And Kaif is now keen to repay the trust shown by his captain Sourav Ganguly by scoring runs consistently.

The promotion has given him the opportunity to settle down and build the innings and his unbeaten 95 off 103 balls in the TVS Cup triangular series match against South Africa yesterday speaks volumes of his new-found confidence.

"I was waiting for such an innings for quite a while. It is a great feeling to have contributed to the team's cause and I hope to keep doing it more often," Kaif said.

Kaif knows that the number four position will provide him the chance of getting big knocks and also improve upon his statistical records which have not reflected his immense potential.

He has a one-day aggregate of 1017 runs in 50 matches (41 innings) at an average of 31.78.

The stylish batsman may have missed what could have been his second one-day century yesterday, but the team-man that he is, Kaif feels that the interest of the team is more important than achieving personal milestones.

"Not getting the century does not disturb me. I am quite happy to do the job for my country. You play for the team not for yourself," he said.

Kaif is part of the young brigade which has injected the much-needed enthusiasm in Indian cricket. Kaif, alongwith Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra are seen as the future 'backbone' of the team.

Apart from his batting skills, the 22-year-old Kaif's electrifying fielding and superb running between the wickets have made him a real asset in the shorter version of the game.

It is these departments in which the team has seen a remarkable improvement in recent times and the young breed of cricketers have been largely responsible for this.

Kaif and his friend Yuvraj are also considered to be the best runners between the wickets and the mix-up between the two during yesterday's match against South Africa did come as a surprise.

"I have a very good understanding with Yuvraj but it is one of those things that can happen in a game. This is only the second time that the two of us were involved in a run-out," Kaif said.

"At that stage I was a little worried because Yuvraj was playing well and he is in good form. We needed him at that time. But (Dinesh) Mongia played a great knock which helped us get a big total," Kaif said.

Like any professional cricketer, Kaif feels the players have to adjust to the conditions at various venues and play according to the requirement.

"The conditions here are hot and humid and it is definitely not easy for the bowlers, but then you have to adjust," Kaif said.

The right-hander is now seen as a regular in the one-day squad having put a few impressive knocks in his new batting position.

Kaif's elevation to the senior national team has come the hard way and it was his consistent show at the junior level which eventually forced the selectors to take note of him and draft him into the senior team.

It was his showing in the Under-19 world Cup that brought him into national reckoning. He did not exactly fail in his debut Test against a rampaging South African side and has gone from strength to strength from there on.

As skipper of the victorious Indian under-19 side in the World Cup in Sri Lanka in January 2000, Kaif also proved himself to be a skilful captain.

He came up through the ranks representing the under-19 team against Sri Lanka in 1999 and then playing with much success for the India A team on the tour of West Indies early in 2000.

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Kaif absence wrong - Azharuddin
By Ayanjit Sen
BBC in Delhi



Kaif is considered unlucky to lose out to Yuvraj Singh

India were wrong to leave Mohammad Kaif out of their squad for the first Test against Pakistan, according to former captain Mohammad Azharuddin.

Azharuddin, serving a life ban for match-fixing, feels the middle-order batsman deserves another chance.

"Kaif batted very well against Australia on a tough wicket," Azharuddin told BBC Sport.

"He's got a lot of talent and I am sure he cannot be held back. His omission is not good for his confidence."

Kaif scored two fifties in last year's home series loss to the Aussies, while Yuvraj Singh failed badly against the same opponents yet was given a squad berth for the Mohali Test starting on 8 March.

Shoaib Akhtar's absence is not going to make much of a difference

Mohammad Azharuddin

Azharuddin reckons VVS Laxman should bat at first drop despite struggling for form.

"Laxman has always played well when he has gone as number three," he said.

"Lower down the order, a lot of pressure is on him and if I were the captain, I would have played him at number three."

As well as spinners Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, India have four pacemen to choose from after naming Ashish Nehra, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan in the 14-man squad.

"All the four pace bowlers deserve to get into the team," Azharuddin added.

Pakistan, minus injured paceman Shoaib Akhtar, are due to arrive in India on Monday ahead of their first warm-up match against the Indian Board President's XI starting on Thursday.

"Shoaib Akhtar's absence in the Pakistani side is not going to make much of a difference," Azharuddin opined.

"He may get a wicket or two but he has to be more consistent. Also, the Indian batting is very strong now."

Azharuddin maintains his innocence despite his central involvement in the match-fixing scandal of 2000 which saw Pakistani Salim Malik and the late Hansie Cronje of South Africa also receive life bans.

In 99 Tests for India from 1984 to 2000, Azharuddin scored 6,215 runs at an average of 45 with 22 centuries.

[ajithfederer]

kaif will be dropped from the indian team..........he slows the runrate......

[asan]

kaif will be dropped from the indian team..........he slows the runrate......

A technically sound batsmen, Kaif is considered to be the ideal bat for India in the middle order in both versions of the game. He first came to prominence with his performances for India's Under-19s: he captained the side that won the Youth World Cup of 2000. An exceptional cover fielder with the ability to bowl offspin,so he can do that

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kaif will be dropped from the indian team..........he slows the runrate......

An elegant batsman who evokes memories of the young Azharuddin, Mohammad Kaif comes from the cricketing backwater of Uttar Pradesh. He first came to prominence with his performances for India's Under-19s: he captained the side, which also included Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Ratra and Reetinder Sodhi, that won the Youth World Cup of 2000. Kaif's assured strokeplay, and composure that belied his age, earned him a Test cap against South Africa when he was only 20. Though the selectors subsequently discarded him, stints at the Australian Cricket Academy and its Indian equivalent in Bangalore helped to iron out some of the kinks in his technique. Recalled to the one-day side during the 2001-2002 home season, he made an impact with some steady and purposeful batting. But it was during the 2002 NatWest series in England that he truly hit the high notes, culminating in a magnificent unbeaten 87 as India successfully chased 326 for victory in the final. A superb century followed - against Zimbabwe in the ICC Champions Trophy - but he struggled at times to kick on after that, having a fairly quiet World Cup. His first experience of the county circuit was also a mixed bag, some typically dynamic efforts interspersed by a string of low scores

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This Immensely gifted Uttar Pradesh lad was captain of India’s under 19 team, which won World Cup recently in Sri Lanka. Kaif's elevation to the Indian team has been widely welcomed. During the last couple of years he has impressed not only by his stylish strokeplay and steely temperament which has seen him perform well under pressure, but as leadership material.

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Nagpur: Many have doubted Mohammad Kaif’s ability as a Test cricketer. And after watching the excruciating struggle that saw him reach 20 from 106 balls against England, they could not be doubted.

The initial two hours on either side of the lunch break on Day Three of the first Test he was really struggling. At times, it seemed as if his bat did not have a middle. For however hard he hit the ball, it seem to just crawl to the fielder.

But the next 50 runs will surely make his critics think again. With India struggling at 190 for seven, Kaif’s 91 would have been glorified as a typical Test knock just a decade ago.

It wasn’t a perfect modern day innings where runs are scored at will once the batsman has got his eye in. Yesterday was not the time. And India would be glad that Kaif decided to take the approach that died a decade ago than follow in the footsteps of his contemporaries.

Kaif is well aware that he is filling up for the injured Yuvraj Singh and even captain Rahul Dravid has termed Suresh Raina as the one to watch out for in the future. Leave aside rescuing the team, he also had personal pressures to battle with. To top it all, Kaif was in terrible form in the last few months and played only one Test last year.

The initial struggle was expected and he took time before things started happening. The feet were moving and the ball hit the middle of the bat. He wasn’t scoring at a frantic pace. But on a day where only 186 runs were scored, every single was priceless.

The innings began to remind one of the knock he played against Australia in Chennai in 2004 when India were 233 for six. Kaif’s cautious 64 helped India take the lead.

But just when the innings was beginning to prove his ability as a Test cricketer, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, Kaif became extra cautious in the post-tea session scoring just 30 runs off the 36 overs bowled before becoming the last man out.
It is believed that a well-set batsman must score freely and dominate the bowling.

Yesterday, Kaif showed in bits that he knows how to play Test cricket. And, in bits, also showed that he will have to prove that at least once more

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Rajasthan Cricket Association XI have defeated England by five runs in the one-day practice game in Jaipur.

Put in to bat first, RCA XI lost their openers early on. But Mohammad Kaif's scintillating century and a quickfire 49 by Suresh Raina put the hosts in the driver's seat.

Kaif's 119 came off just 136 deliveries which included 11 hits to the fence and two sixes.

The visitors put up a fight but RCA XI kept picking up wickets at regular intervals, four of them run outs, two by Suresh Raina and two by RCA captain Ajay Jadeja.

Eventually, it was a tight finish as the English were bowled out with just one ball to spare.

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Mohammad Kaif's timely century and Suresh Raina's allround performance spurred Rajashtan Cricket Association XI to a thrilling five-run victory in the final over against England XI at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Ian Bell and Matt Prior kept England in the hunt for most of the match but a spate of run-outs and tight bowling by RCA XI's spinners derailed England's chase.


Chasing 261, Prior gave the initial push with a 69-run stand for the third wicket with Kevin Pietersen. The early loss of Vikram Solanki and Owais Shah didn't faze him as he collected runs by cutting and lofting over the infield. The opening bowlers were guilty of offering far too much room to Prior and bowling much too straight to Pietersen, who milked runs to the midwicket fence. But they found runs hard to come by against Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar and Prior holed out soon after Pietersen was run out.

Bell handled the responsibility of leading the chase marvellously and, with Paul Collingwood, used his feet to play the spinners very effectively. Skipping down the track both batsmen lofted over the infield to find the fence and suddenly all the pressure created was let off. Two calamitous run-outs, first Collingwood and then Ian Blackwell, reduced England XI to 216 for 6 but Bell carried on. Making use of a missed stumping early in his innings, Bell showed that, when necessary, he could adapt to the one-day format as well and his nudges and pushes were interspersed with attacking shots down the ground.

The asking-rate mounted as wickets fell at the other end and Bell perished while trying to clear deep midwicket . The match seemed lost then but Kabir Ali was reading another script. Needing 24 off 11 balls, he hoisted Chawala over long-on for six. With the equation reading 12 runs off three balls with one wicket remaining, Ali unleashed another massive hit over deep midwicket. However, it was to end there. He drove the next ball to cover and James Anderson set off at top speed from the non-striker's end. Kaif pounced on the opportunity and completed the fourth run-out of the innings to seal England's loss.

It was fitting that Kaif ended the match for it was he who set it up so perfectly for RCA XI's in the first innings. He paced his century perfectly - taking time to settle as Suresh Rania sparkled during his 49, picking off the ones and twos in the middle overs, and finishing unbeaten on 119 with a flurry of boundaries at the death. His innings began after both openers had fallen cheaply. Gautam Gambhir, almost certain to partner Virender Sehwag in the ODIs, floundered and fell tamely to a nick down leg side but another Indian hopeful shone. Rania, who was superb later with the ball and in the field, kept the momentum going with his characteristic punchy drives and whippy flicks while Kaif took time to get settled.

England's attack, missing Andrew Flintoff and Matthew Hoggard, showed their inexperience by bowling far too full and wide. Raina got cracking straightaway, steering Sajid Mahmood through cover point for four off the second ball he faced. He was especially severe on Anderson, bashing him for three fours in his fifth over as the innings began to pick up pace after a sluggish start. As Rania unleashed an array of crisp strokes, Kaif dug in. He was typically busy in the early part of his innings and his first signs of aggression were consecutive fours of Liam Plunkett.

England lost Mahmood to a stomach bug after he bowled just three overs but Collingwood and Blackwell filled the breach and stemmed the run-rate. Collingwood's offcutters snared Rania (49 off 46 balls) and Venugopal, who frittered a crucial opportunity to impress the selectors, and Blackwell induced a top-edge from Ajay Jadeja. Blackwell returned figures of 1 for 33 and staked his claim for a one-day spot.

At 166 for 5, RCA XI were in a dicey situation but Kaif took centrestage. He shifted gears and unleashed drives and pulls and when he couldn't find the boundary he played infuriating chip shots over the infield that fell in no man's land. His cheekiness rubbed off on Parthiv Patel who contributed 25. Kaif quickly made up the deficit between his runs and balls faced by playing in an aggressive vein, something which has been missing in his international knocks of late. He ended the innings with a flourish, clouting a four and a six off the final two balls to finish with 119 off 136 balls

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Immensely gifted, Mohammad Kaif's inclusion in the Indian team against South Africa was widely welcomed. During the last couple of years he has impressed not only with his stylish strokeplay and steely temperament which has seen him perform well under pressure, but also with his agile fielding. As skipper of the victorious Indian under-19 side in the World Cup in Sri Lanka in January 2000, Kaif also proved himself to be a skillful captain. He came up through the ranks representing the under-19 team against Sri Lanka in 1999 (earning handsome praise from the coach, K Srikkanth) and then playing with much success for the India A team on the tour of West Indies early in 2000.

But it was his showing in the under-19 World Cup that brought him into national reckoning. This was followed by two superb knocks of 90 and 93 in the Challenger Trophy Series - performances that saw him edge that much closer to the India cap. He did not exactly fail in his only Test against a rampaging South African side. A stint at the National Cricket Academy and a training trip to Australia played a major role in furthering the cricketing education of Kaif. A series of high scores in the domestic circuit followed and this saw him drafted into the Indian one-day side where his useful batting and athletic fielding have made him an indispensable member