The Hindu : Kaif looks ahead with optimism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003

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Sport - Cricket

Kaif looks ahead with optimism

By S. Dinakar

Mohd. Kaif — tiger on the field. — Photo: V. Ganesan

Chennai Oct. 21. The fiercely focussed eye of the tiger is what one is reminded of when Mohammed Kaif swoops on the ball.

Whether he is scampering across for a death or glory single, or flinging himself to pluck the ball out of thin air, or sprinting and sliding to save a run, Kaif oozes singlemindedness.

Cricket is a lot about commitment. A quality Kaif has in plenty. India's quintessential limited-overs cricketer looked at the TVS ODI tri-series beginning at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on October 23 with optimism, the threat of rain notwithstanding, when The Hindu caught up with him.

One of the principal features of the Kaif success story has been his astonishing level of fitness, and it is not uncommon to watch him slugging it out for hours at the gym, or training on the ground.

Ask him and he is quick to tell you that strength of the mind and that of the body are inter-related.

"If you are physically strong, you will have the confidence to give that extra yard. Even when you are sweating it out at the gym and you become tired, it is your mind that tells you to keep going. It is the same in a match, during pressure situations."

Though he received opportunities to bat at No. 4 during the World Cup, Kaif (1072 runs in 53 ODIs at 30.62, one hundred) has had to walk out at No. 7 on most occasions, never an easy slot to survive.

"You do not get too many overs. There are times when there are only five or six remaining and you hardly have the time to settle down. You have to start rotating the strike and look for the big hits almost straightaway. It is a challenge. It is also a responsibility."

Here, Kaif throws light on what captain Sourav Ganguly emphasises on during team meetings. "He tells us it is not so much the number of runs made as runs that enable a side to win. Even if there are only 20 runs to get, the job has to be finished. I look at it that way. Ultimately, the team has to benefit."

It is this team spirit and the feeling of togetherness that was the key to the Indian ODI successes in 2002-2003, culminating with a World Cup runner-up finish at the Wanderers.

"I must say that the captain and coach have created an environment where the seniors blend with the juniors and the team is always at the forefront. We have helped each other out, fought as one unit."

He agrees that the disastrous campaign in New Zealand was responsible for India's shaky start in the World Cup, but points out that the side regrouped quickly. Indeed, came back from the dead and bucked the odds for most part of the season gone by.

And Kaif remembers well his match-winning partnership — India successfully chased an awesome 326 in the NatWest final against England — with Yuvraj Singh at Lord's. "It was a big game, we were playing at Lord's, we had lost eight successive finals, we had lost half the side, the heat was on us, and we had to get a partnership going." Kaif was there at the nerve-wracking end with a tigerish unbeaten 87.

The 22-year-old cricketer's wonderfully athletic work on the field has also invariably lifted the Indian fielding standards. Kaif thanks former Indian fitness trainer Adrian le Roux for his inputs. "I learnt the different techniques in running, throwing, and catching and it really helped. I went back to the basics in fielding. Fielding is a lot of hard work, but you have to enjoy it." He believes his best catch is yet to come.

With the willow Kaif strives to stop his game from becoming stagnant. Proof? A whiplash pull and an inside out cover drive that have fetched him runs in plenty over the past 18 months. Strokes that were not part of his armoury earlier. "I have developed these strokes," he admits.

The interview over, Kaif rushes off to the gym. This young man is fiercely focussed. Like the eye of the tiger.

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