Mohammad Kaif

Kaif was born in a middle-class family on 1 December 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He started his career from Green Park Hostel, Kanpur. His father Mohammad Tarif Ansari played for the Railways cricket team and the Uttar Pradesh cricket team . His brother Mohammad Saif plays for Madhya Pradesh cricket team & Uttar Pradesh cricket team.

Kaif made his Test debut in 2000 against South Africa in Bangalore soon after, and was selected in the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

His early international career was considered patchy, with the occasional outstanding performance backed up by ordinary batting. His most famous feat was helping India chase down 326 with 87* (off 75 balls) in the 2002 NatWest Series Final. The effort earned him his first Man of the Match award.

He was a quick runner between the wickets and an excellent cover fielder, most notable for his agility and throwing accuracy. He holds the record for the most catches by a fielder in a World Cup match – four, against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup at Johannesburg on 10 March 2003.

In the series against Bangladesh in late 2004, he was named Man of the Series award for his consistency in all the three ODIs.

Kaif earned himself a Test cap against South Africa while he was quite young at the age of 20, though soon later he was dropped from the national side because of some ordinary performances. Kaif made a good comeback to the Test side against Australia late in 2004 scoring two half-centuries.

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 scored 148 not out in the second Test, his maiden Test century.

In late 2006, he was dropped from the ODI team and Test squad. In April 2008, he was recalled to the Test squad for the Second Test against South Africa but did not play.

Kaif represented the victorious Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008. He was bought for US$685,000 as an iconic player. Even though he played in all the matches for the team, he had a poor run in the series, mustering only 176 runs at an average of 16. On 15 April 2009, he was axed by Rajasthan Royals team management, which cited his poor form and cost-cutting for the omission from the squad for the 2009 season.

As of July 2005, Kaif was one of the only five cricketers from Uttar Pradesh state to have represented India on international level. In 2009, the Indian team was well represented by Uttar Pradesh with as many as three regulars, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar and Rudra Pratap Singh in the ODI team. He was the 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.

Kaif was bought for US$250,000 by Kings XI Punjab to play in 2010 Indian Premier League.

Kaif is married to Puja Yadav, a Noida based journalist. They both tied the knot in 2011.

Kaif was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore to play in 2011 Indian Premier League, in the third round of bidding. He was the only player was requested to appear for bidding for the third time. Later in an interview, Subrata Roy of Sahara India stated that he requested a third round of bidding because he thought that Kaif should find a place in an IPL team.

In February 2017, Gujarat Lions named Kaif assistant coach of Brad Hodge for 2017 Indian Premier League. He was named the assistant coach for Delhi Capitals for the 2019 Indian Premier League and 2020 Indian Premier League.

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भारतीय स्टार क्रिकेटर मोहम्मद कैफ का जन्मदिन 01 दिसंबर 1980 को इलाहाबाद में हुआ था। नेटवेस्ट फाइनल के हीरो आज अपना 35वां जन्मदिन मना रहे हैं।