Mohammed Kaif

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Mohammad Kaif India (Ind)
Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling type	Off Break (OB)
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	10	117
Runs scored	546	2661
Batting average	24.6	33.26
100s/50s	2/3	2/17
Top score	148*	111*
Overs bowled	3	0
Wickets	0	0
Bowling average	-	0
5 wickets in innings	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	N/A
Best bowling	-	-
Catches/stumpings	12/0	54/0
As of 27 May 2006 Source: Cricinfo.com

Mohammed Kaif pronunciation (help·info) (born December 1, 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Muslim family) is an Indian cricketer, more specifically a middle-order batsman. He is a tall and thinly-built cricketer who made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the Indian team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. He can be both defensive and aggressive, as variable strike rates in Test and ODI cricket suggest.

His early international career was patchy, with the occasional outstanding performance backed up by ordinary batting. His most famous feat was helping India chase down 326 with a marvellous 87* (off only 75 balls) in the 2002 NatWest Series Final. The effort earned him his first Man of the Match award. In the series against Bangladesh in late 2004, he was named Man of the Series for his consistency in all the three ODIs. Kaif earned himself a Test cap against South Africa when he was 20. Although dropped after some ordinary performances, he made a good comeback to the Test side against Australia late in 2004 scoring two gritty half-centuries. He is a very fast runner between the wickets and an excellent cover fielder; most notably his agility and throwing accuracy.

The team management tend to use him in the middle order, though his successes have almost always come playing high up - at number 3 rather than at number 7. He tends to score big when given the time to settle. His usual position in domestic games and in county cricket has been number 3. But given the number of players in that mold, such as Dravid, Raina and Yuvraj, Kaif has found it difficult to play at the number 3 spot on a consistent basis. With the arrival of Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid being appointed captain, the number 3 slot is given to either Irfan Pathan or Mahendra Singh Dhoni to accelerate the scoring rate.

In March 2006, he was recalled to the Test team in place of the injured Yuvraj Singh for the First Test against England in Nagpur. Despite top-scoring with a dogged 91 to save the Test match, he was omitted for the following match when Yuvraj had recovered his fitness. But he found a place in the four Tests in the West Indies, after Sachin Tendulkar was injured. He hit 148 not out in the second Test, his maiden Test century.

According to the Times of India, as of July 2005, he is one of only five cricketers from Uttar Pradesh to have made it to the national side. Although he is not yet a regular member of the Test side, he is often viewed as a potential future captain, as he is the current captain of both Central Zone and Uttar Pradesh. He also captained the national ODI team in the 2005-06 Challenger Trophy in the absence of regular captain Rahul Dravid.

[edit] External links

• Cricinfo Player Profile : Mohammad Kaif

	India squad - 2003 Cricket World Cup
1 Ganguly | 2 Dravid | 3 Sehwag | 4 Tendulkar | 5 Kumble | 6 Harbhajan | 7 Srinath | 8 Zaheer | 9 Nehra | 10 Mongia | 11 P Patel | 12 Bangar | 13 Agarkar | 14 Yuvraj | 15 Kaif | Coach: Wright