"I Was More Suited To Tests": Mohammad Kaif Likens His Batting Technique To Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir

Mohammad Kaif, who called time on his cricketing career recently, expressed his satisfaction over the fact that he got to play with the legends of the game. Kaif went on to add that he was more suited to Test cricket and compared his technique to the likes of his former teammates Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid. "I was more suited to Test cricket, though I didn't play much of it. With my technique, I was like Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid... I have watched them a lot", he was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. Kaif was even compared to explosive batsman Yuvraj Singh during his cricketing days but he quickly refuted those claims. "I was never like Yuvraj... I like to spend some time at the crease; but I played 125 ODIs," added Kaif.

Kaif grabbed the headlines for his special match-winning knock of 87 at Lord's during the Natwest Trophy final in 2002 but he admitted that several youngsters like him were lost among the greats in the team like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

"I am happy the way I played my game. I contributed and created some moments for Indian fans -- both overseas as well in India. Happy with the way I finished my career and... it was a nice era when I played", he said.

Kaif has scored 2,753 runs, including two hundreds and 17 half-centuries in the shorter version of the game. He last donned the India jersey in 2006 against South Africa, playing 13 Tests and 125 One-Day Internationals (ODI).

Kaif also reminisced the era he played in adding that he was content with the way he finished his career.

"I am happy the way I played my game. I contributed and created some moments for Indian fans -- both overseas as well in India. Happy with the way I finished my career and... it was a nice era when I played," Kaif said. "I was playing under some of the best players and they all became the legends... when you have so much of competition in the team then it's also difficult for the selectors to make room for younger players like me", he said signing off.

(With IANS Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Mohammad Kaif Gautam Gambhir Sachin Tendulkar Yuvraj Singh Cricket