Had to warn 'old' Mohammad Kaif to be cautious, jokes Sachin Tendulkar

An extremely fit and agile athlete who traversed the ground at the rate of knots, Mohammad Kaif brought about a fielding revolution in the Indian side in the early 2000s. In his six-year international career, be it fielding at cover or at point, Kaif took many a memorable catch and established himself as one of the best fielders in the world.

Recently, the 39-year-old represented the Indian side in the Road Safety World Series and proved that age didn’t affect his speed or agility, blowing the minds of fans with some outrageous ground fielding and catching, including taking a ludicrous diving catch to dismiss Chamara Kapugedara.

Sachin Tendulkar, who captained the Indian Legends side in the tournament, joked how the Indian players had to warn Kaif to remain cautious and ask him to tone down his athleticism, given the latter was 39 years of age.

"We had to tell Kaif to be cautious. We nicknamed him 'bhai sahab, bhai sahab, thoda sambhalke.' It's the first match of the tournament and there are a lot of matches to be played," Tendulkar said in a video uploaded on 100 MB YouTube channel, reported TOI.

Sachin further mocked Kaif’s faith in his own fitness and then raved about the latter’s fitness and ability on the field during the time he represented the Indian national team.

"What if you pull a hamstring or something. It (diving and fielding quickly) comes naturally to him. He thinks if you are fit, you continue doing those things. He was a really fit guy. He was an outstanding fielder in team.”

The Road Safety World Series, which featured five countries and several legends of the game, got off to a breathtaking start with packed crowds bringing about an electrifying atmosphere to the tournament, but unfortunately had to be called off after four games due to the Covid-19 pandemic.