By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
New Delhi : Uttar Pradesh cricket captain Mohammed Kaif wants his team to achieve the same level of consistency and stature as 37-time national champions Mumbai.
Kaif, who is in Mumbai to play the Ranji Trophy final against Delhi, starting Wednesday, told IANS over phone that with all its traditional cricket centres, Uttar Pradesh has enormous potential to become one of the best teams in the country.
“My goal is to see Uttar Pradesh acquire the reputation of being the best team in the Ranji Trophy and for that we have to be as consistent as Mumbai.”
Kaif said the Uttar Pradesh youngsters come through a tough grind as they learn their basics very early and then rough it out.
“Youngsters in Uttar Pradesh learn the nuances of the game quickly and one reason could be that they are brought up in a tough atmosphere and they have no choice but to work hard to learn the ropes fast,” said the 27-year-old right-handed batsman who has played 125 One-Day Internationals (ODI) and 13 Tests.
Kaif should know the rigours of the system, as he himself is a product of it, having spent eight long years in a dingy Kanpur Sports Hostel room before his Test debut in 2000.
The facilities at the Sports Hostel were limited in the 1990s and Kaif toughened up practising at the Green Park Stadium, which too was not exactly the swankiest place in the country.
Another reason why Uttar Pradesh cricketers become tough, pointed out Kaif, is that they venture out of the state to play club cricket to earn some money.
“Youngsters are regularly on the move. Most of them play club cricket in Delhi, Kolkata and even Mumbai and that toughens them up,” emphasised the man who himself played a lot of local cricket in Delhi.
Kaif, in fact, has been living in Delhi for many years along with his brother, Saif, a former Uttar Pradesh Ranji player, and even has a house here.
Kaif, who played the Ranji final in his debut 1997-98, is set to become the first Uttar Pradesh player to captain in his second final.
In 2005-06, his team defeated Bengal at Lucknow’s K.D. Singh Babu Stadium to win the Ranji Trophy for the first time in the 72 years of the national championship.
Besides leading Uttar Pradesh capably this season, Kaif has also scored prolifically. With 650, at an average of 65.00 in seven matches, he is placed fourth in the top scorers list and has a realistic chance of heading the list with another big knock in the final.
Kaif’s coach and former teammate, Gyanendra Pandey, feels his captain is in such great form he deserves to be back in the India team.
“He has been in tremendous form and has also led the team from the front. He fully deserves to be recalled on the basis of the runs he has scored,” said Pandey, who was part of Kaif’s team when it won the Ranji title two years ago.