5 cricketers whose USP was their fielding

#2 Mohammed Kaif

Mohammed Kaif along with Yuvraj Singh made India a strong fielding unit

The man from Allahabad was nothing but a sensation in the field. He along with Yuvraj Singh took the fielding standards to new heights in Indian cricket and made India a strong fielding unit in the years to come. Kaif would be positioned in the covers and Yuvraj at the point and it was very difficult for the batsmen to get the ball past those acrobatic fielders. The standard of Indian fielding improved by leaps and bounds when the duo was out there in the field.

Kaif has taken some mind-boggling catches in his career and also has a high percentage of direct hits initiating in many crucial run outs. He was like a livewire on the field and grasped some exceptional catches which would have been impossible for most people. The catch against Pakistan in the 1st ODI in 2004 at Karachi is fondly remembered by the Indian fans as it helped the Men in Blue win a nerve-wracking thriller.He has taken a total of 55 catches in ODI cricket and 14 catches in Tests.

Kaif was also the central figure when India won the 2002 Natwest Trophy in England under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. Chasing a mammoth 326 to win in the Final, India floundered and was staring down the barrel at a score of 146/5 when the pair of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif joined in the middle. The duo slowly started hitting boundaries on regular intervals and started bringing back India into the match.

Yuvraj fell with India around 60 runs away from England’s total. Despite the downfall of his partner, Kaif continued his heroics and took India past the finishing line. It was one of the greatest victories in Indian cricket and captain Sourav Ganguly famously waved his shirt standing at the Lord’s balcony.