Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif, one of India's integral players during the early 2000s, has revealed the integral role played by Sachin Tendulkar in team-bonding. Claiming that modern-day cricketers have become a lot more "professional", Kaif revealed that players during his era would spend a bunch of time together. Kaif even narrated an incident from those times, which displayed Tendulkar's pivotal role in building the harmony within the team. Kaif suggested that players remain a lot more to themselves now, spending less time with teammates. Kaif has also reflected on the fitness challenges posed by numerous matches in the modern game.
"Now players have become more professional. I was a coach in the IPL, and I noticed players would finish practice and head straight to their hotel rooms, either spending time on their phones, watching movies, or playing games. But when we played, we spent a lot of time together during practice," Kaif said, speaking on the Cheeky Singles show on JioHotstar.
"In our time, we would always leave (practice) together. Even Sachin Tendulkar, after finishing his batting and fielding drills, would wait for the last player and say, 'Finish practice first, then we'll go together," Kaif revealed.
"Nowadays, there are cars ready for players so that they can leave after they are done with practice," Kaif added.
Following India's 1-3 Test series loss to Australia earlier in 2025, team cohesion was one of the primary objectives underlined by the BCCI in their 10-point diktat.
"All players are expected to travel with the team to and from matches and practice sessions. Separate travel arrangements with families are discouraged to maintain discipline and team cohesion," was a point on the diktat.
Kaif stated that the preparation for players have become a lot more detailed, which has occurred with the increase in the number of matches.
"I remember when I played in the NatWest Trophy final, which was in July. After that, I played my next ODI only three months later in the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. Back then, there were fewer matches, and we always got breaks in between. We had time for conditioning camps.
"Nowadays, the frequency of matches has increased a lot. players just travel and go straight into matches, from one match to the next. That's why there is so much talk about physios and doctors, because players need to take care of their bodies. Fitness has become such a big part of the game. Players now even travel with their personal chef and trainer. All these things have increased compared to our time," Kaif said.