At 20, I was hurried into Test side, reveals Mohammed Kaif

After leading India to the first U-19 World Cup title in 2000, with the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Ratra and Reetinder Sodhi being a part of the set-up, Mohammed Kaif was suddenly drafted into the Test side. His performances in the subsequent Challenger Trophy played a part, but he looked all at sea when subjected to the red-ball challenges against Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Nantie Hayward. 

20 years down the line, after being parts of 13 Test matches for India in which he scored 624 runs at an average of 32.84 between 2000 to 2006, Kaif recalled that he was not ready for the challenges of Test cricket back then which proved to be the ultimate differentiator.

"I was surprised at the Test call-up. Since it was India's first Under-19 World Cup title victory, there was a lot of media hype. There was a Challenger tournament in which most of the Under-19 players got a chance to play. I had two scores in the 90s in back-to-back matches that I played, then I was named in the Indian Test side. But I think I was hurried into Test cricket, I was just 20 and to face someone like Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Nantie Hayward, they had some serious pace. It was a learning experience for me, just like a new swimmer is thrown into the deep and asked to help himself,” Kaif told Times of India online edition..

“So to be honest, I think I was not ready to face that kind of pace, which I had never faced (before). They were bowling a lot of bouncers and here in domestic cricket the ball hardly bounces and we can drive easily. That was a big difference. Then I got dropped and then I worked very hard and made my ODI debut against England at my home ground Kanpur. 

“Those two years gave me time to learn how to play at the international level. I came back hard, I came back prepared after playing some domestic matches. I think sometimes selectors tend to rush with young players based on the name and the hype and seeing the Indian team losing, a new player is thrown into international cricket and sometimes it does more harm than good." Kaif told TimesofIndia.com.

Kaif, the architect of one of India’s most celebrated ODI wins, had a comparatively better career in ODIs, with him scoring 2753 runs at 32.01 in 125 matches he played. Kaif was also regarded as one of the finest fielders to have played for India.