Mohd Kaif's brother Saif hits out over UP batsman's exclusion
Friday, October 03, 2008
'Selectors don't have guts to drop seniors'
Mumbai: Once touted the future captain of Team India, Mohammed Kaif's story has been one of the most incredible slides in the last decade till he finally arrested the freefall and clawed his way back in the reckoning.
Kaif, who was almost a certainty to the Test squad, was sidelined in favour of S Badrinath for the first two matches of the crucial Test series at home against Australia. The wild card entry by Sourav Ganguly didn't do well either for Kaif's aspirations to make a comeback.
When the media and the cricket pundits are busy analysing the selection criteria of Ganguly and S Badrinath, Kaif finds himself lonely and with his back against the wall.
The UP batsman's brother Mohammad Saif, who was himself a powerful all-rounder, told cricketnirvana.com: "Kaif fought his way back by the sheer dint of his domestic performance and his utility as a brilliant fielder.''
"Our expectations were sky high as the date of selection was coinciding with Eid ul-Fitr, but after we came to know that Kaifu has been ignored the festive mood has crashed down,' Saif said.
'"Kaif has worked hard on his batting and should have got a berth in the squad for the Test series against the Aussies,'' he adds.
Kaif, who played Test cricket in June 2006, received the boot on the back of a lean string (0, DNB, 13, 6) against the West Indies. The selectors quickly forgot about his unbeaten innings of 46 and 148 in Tests one and two of that series, resigning him to the international wilderness since. He did make a comeback during the South Africa series but was not part of the playing XI.
The big question here is why three fruitless knocks led to his axing? Coming down heavily on the national selectors, Saif says: "These pigeon chested selectors don't have the guts to drop any of these seniors.
Claiming that Kaif's knock of 94 for India 'A' was enough evidence that he was ready to take field again for the national side, Saif believes that his time will come and he will not let it go easily. "Kaif is disappointed, but not disheartened.''
Some say he didn't deserve a place in the team, others wished he scored more runs, but the man himself knows what he needs to do. "Kaif knows he is strong deep inside. If lack of runs is a problem, he wants to score more and more,'' Saif reiterates.
Support for Kaif is also coming from the last selection panel which reinstated him. "I cannot comment on a decision which has already been taken but Kaif is a strong character. He will make a comeback sooner or later,'' said Bhupinder Singh Sr, the selector from North Zone in Dilip Vengsarkar's panel.
Bhupinder's colleague, Ranjib Biswal said: "These things happen but a good player will always try to improve and comeback as a better and improved player.''
Hopefully these words will inspire Kaif to make yet another comeback.
