Mohammad Kaif, India’s first U-19 World Cup winning-captain, turns 45:Parents were watching a movie when he starred in historic Lord’s ODI win

There are many big names in Indian cricket but some players are remembered for their calm presence and the work they did for the team. Mohammad Kaif is one such name. Today, he is celebrating his 45th birthday, but fans still remember his 87-run innings in the 2002 NatWest Trophy final. There are many stories in Kaif’s career that made him a reliable face of Indian cricket. Let’s know some special stories related to his career and life: From the streets of Allahabad to Team India On December 1, 1980, a son was born to Mohammad Tarif and Qaiser Jahan in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh. Tarif, who had played 60 Ranji Trophy matches for Railways and Uttar Pradesh, started teaching his son Mohammad Kaif cricket from childhood. Kaif made his name by playing tennis ball cricket in the streets of Allahabad. His father sent him to Kanpur for professional training, where he lived in the Green Park Stadium hostel and also practiced there. On the strength of his excellent performance in junior cricket, he made his Ranji debut for UP at the young age of 17. In 1998, he also got the opportunity to play List-A. Had played the World Cup even before his Ranji debut In 1996, the Under-15 World Cup for cricketers was also organized for the first time. The tournament consisted of 55-over matches. Mohammad Kaif also got an opportunity in the Indian team captained by Reetinder Sodhi. India entered the semi-finals by defeating England, West Indies, Canada, and Zimbabwe in the group stage. Kaif scored 130 runs with one fifty and also took one wicket. In the semi-final, South Africa scored 262 runs for the loss of 7 wickets with the help of 3 fifties. In response, Reetinder Sodhi and Pradeep Chawla scored fifties for India. Finally, Kaif remained unbeaten on 54 runs and led India to a 5-wicket victory. Pakistan was in the final, and the team scored 222 runs batting first. India lost wickets continuously, but with the help of captain Reetinder’s 82 runs, the team won the final by 4 wickets. Led Yuvraj in the Under-19 World Cup Based on his good performance in domestic cricket, young Mohammad Kaif got an opportunity in India’s Under-19 cricket team. Not only that, BCCI also made him the captain for the ICC Junior ODI World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka during 2000. This team also included players like Yuvraj Singh, current BCCI Secretary Mithun Manhas, and Venugopal Rao. Under Kaif’s captaincy, India remained unbeaten and reached the semi-finals. There, the team defeated the previous champions Australia by a huge margin of 170 runs. Batting first in the final, Sri Lanka could only score 178 runs. Captain Kaif sent Sri Lanka’s top scorer Jehan Mubarak back to the pavilion by giving away just 31 runs in 10 overs. With excellent batting, India achieved the target by losing just 4 wickets. Under Kaif’s captaincy, India won the Under-19 World Cup title for the first time. Yuvraj Singh, who scored 203 runs and took 12 wickets in the tournament, became the Player of the Tournament. It took India 8 years to win the second title, and by 2025, the team had won this title 3 more times. Immediately after the World Cup, Kaif made his Test debut for India. Created history by scoring a fifty at Lord’s On July 13, 2002, the final of the NatWest Tri-Series took place between India and England at The Lord’s Stadium in London. Batting first, the home team scored 325 runs. Marcus Trescothick and captain Nasser Hussain scored centuries. Facing a big target, Virender Sehwag and captain Sourav Ganguly formed a century partnership for India. Sehwag was out after scoring 45 runs and Ganguly 60 runs. In no time, India lost 5 wickets for 146 runs. Young Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif came to the pitch. Both played a cautious partnership and took the score past 250. In the 42nd over, Yuvi was out after scoring 69 runs. Kaif, however, remained at the crease, and along with Harbhajan Singh, he took India past 300. In the 48th over, India lost 2 more wickets. Kaif, however, remained at the crease. Zaheer Khan was with him. 11 runs were still needed off 12 balls. In the 49th over, Mohammad Kaif scored 9 runs against Darren Gough and brought the team close to victory. Andrew Flintoff came to bowl the last over. He also bowled 2 dot balls. Zaheer played the third ball towards covers and ran for a single, the English fielder threw, but the ball missed the stumps and went far away. Kaif and Zaheer took advantage of this, completed the second run, and secured victory for India. For his innings of 87 runs off 75 balls, Kaif received the Player of the Final award. After 5 wickets, the family had turned off the TV An interesting fact about the Lord’s ODI was that as soon as India’s fifth wicket fell in the form of Sachin Tendulkar. His parents, who were watching Kaif’s match in Allahabad, turned off the TV and left the house to watch Shah Rukh Khan’s Devdas film. They did not expect India to win. As soon as Kaif’s parents came out of the theatre after the film ended, people told them that their son had given India a historic victory. Then the father had said, “I am happy that my son gave the country a chance to celebrate.” Matches started turning around with fielding After his innings against England, Kaif remained a consistent part of India’s ODI team. He took charge of the team in the middle order alongside Yuvraj Singh. He didn’t get many batting opportunities in this position, but he attracted the audience’s attention through his fielding. He took 69 catches in his career. His fielding in the 30-yard circle inspired the country’s new generation to focus on fielding. Could only play 13 Tests, scored one century Kaif scored 2753 runs in 125 ODIs for India at an average of around 32. In these, he scored 2 centuries and 17 fifties. He had made his Test debut for India two years before his ODI debut in 2002. However, he could not establish himself in this format. In 13 red-ball cricket matches, Kaif scored 624 runs at an average of around 33. These included one century and 3 fifties. After 2006, Kaif could not play any international match for India. Won IPL under Shane Warne’s captaincy Kaif, who was out of the international team, continued to perform in domestic cricket. In the IPL, which started in 2008, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals. He scored 176 runs in 16 matches for the team. He couldn’t do much with the bat, but he won matches for the team with his fielding. In 2008, Rajasthan defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final to win the title. After the first season, Rajasthan released Kaif. Then, until 2012, he could only play 13 matches in 3 seasons for Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. In which he scored just 83 runs. He did not have a single fifty in his IPL career, with 34 runs being his best score. After this, he was part of teams as a coach. Also played domestic cricket from Chhattisgarh Despite not getting a place in Team India and IPL, Kaif continued to play domestic cricket. He played cricket for Chhattisgarh after Uttar Pradesh. In 186 first-class matches, he scored 10229 runs. He also played 269 List-A and 75 T20 matches. In 2018, Kaif retired from all formats of cricket. Made a career in commentary After retiring from professional cricket, Kaif made a career as a commentator. Along with this, he also became a part of the coaching staff of domestic teams. Kaif is currently seen on Star Sports’ commentary panel. Married a Hindu girl, named son Kabir Mohammad Kaif married journalist Pooja Yadav in March 2011. They named their elder son Kabir and their daughter Eva. Kaif often shares pictures of spending time with his children on social media. He has also said many times in interviews that a large part of his life is now spent with his family.