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Kaif should be dropped from the Indian Team.

mkamdar

Cricket Spectator
I think India should drop Mohd. Kaif from the team. He is undoubtedly an excellent fielder, but no way does he derserve to make the team on his batting skills or lack thereof. The man can not hit. He tried to hit a big shot and he gave an easy catch. This is not the first time either. When was the last time he had a useful batting performance? He has a tendency to fail too often to be in the side. We should pick a legitimate all rounder or a better slugger in his place. Usually, when the number 7 batsman walks in, it is time for fireworks - some thing that Kaif is just not good at. Possible replacements could be Badani or Gavaskar or another young slugger. Let me know what you guys think.
 

ReallyCrazy

Banned
Kaif is not a good #7 batter. He is more of a #4 batter. He is not a big shot maker. He can run fast between the wickets and is a better at #4. That said, I don't think he should make the team at all anymore as he has not done anything of note for the past 2 years. Badani is a better bet. He has always performed every chance he got. And his fielding aint bad.
 

steds

Hall of Fame Member
Kaif has scored a century in an ODI and has a strike rate of over 70. You can't say he has no shots. If he doesn't score quick enough for your liking and India should introduce a slogger at no. 7, I think Kaif could do a job higher up the order batting through the innings, with the others who play their shots batting around him. He is obvously too talented to be dropped.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Argh this is going to hurt. :(

I have to eat my words and admit that Kaif isn't doing the job that the team wants from him. I don't think he's a number 7 batsman, he's a 4 or 5 but with India's current ODI batting line up, there's simply no room for him. His fielding skills are exceptional, and when he is on fire (Natwest Tropy 2002, 4th ODI against Pakistan 2004) he has the ability to win a match for India, but it's just not consistent enough.

That hurts so much because Kaif was one of my favourite players in 2002/03 :( But one or two knocks doesn't make a career, and doesn't solidify a spot in the team.
 

steds

Hall of Fame Member
it is true that India have a lot of quality batsmen, and you can't see him working his way up that order quite yet, but he shouldn't just be scrapped like SS Das was. He is now playing club cricket at Newton-Le-Willows in the Liverpool and District competition in England. I play for the same club and can tell you that he is class. I saw him score 203 in a game this season, which even against Worsley CC is hard to do in 50 overs.
 
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shankar

International Debutant
Jono said:
Argh this is going to hurt. :(

I have to eat my words and admit that Kaif isn't doing the job that the team wants from him. I don't think he's a number 7 batsman, he's a 4 or 5 but with India's current ODI batting line up, there's simply no room for him. His fielding skills are exceptional, and when he is on fire (Natwest Tropy 2002, 4th ODI against Pakistan 2004) he has the ability to win a match for India, but it's just not consistent enough.

That hurts so much because Kaif was one of my favourite players in 2002/03 :( But one or two knocks doesn't make a career, and doesn't solidify a spot in the team.
My sentiments exactly. But the fielding's really going to suffer if he's dropped :(
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Look at the opposition who defeated them- they fielded like champions. So does Kaif. If he hasn't scored much, neither has Ganguly, who can't field as well.
 

steds

Hall of Fame Member
peronally, I think Ganguly is vastly overrated, and would rather see Kaif playing for India than him
 

NikhilN

International Regular
If you dont already know, a player can make the team on his fielding..he can suck at batting and bowling but the player can make the team if he is a good fielder.And here is the thing, kaif does not suck at batting.Kaif comes in with a lot of pressure on him cause he know the team is down and out and it hard to bat then.Ganguly can't even push him up the order because there are batsman better then him on the team that need to go first.
 

mkamdar

Cricket Spectator
We are not talking about Ganguly!

Ok. Is Ganguly overated? Quite likely yes. Does he pull his weight in batting? Not as often as he should. But as far as Kaif, if he is better suited at 4 or 5 - he is simply not good enough to bat there then he should not make the team. He is absolutely mis matched at 7, he does more harm than good at that position. I absolutely love his fielding but that should not give him a free pass. Rohan Gavaskar when he was given a chance showed some flair and stroke making ability and was an above average fielder. Badani is a better than average fielder and has demonstrated the ability to slug. May be an opportunity should be given to somebody from the A team. May be somebody from the under 19 squad - Rayudu???

Ganguly has been less than stellar with his bat - no question about that. His leadership skills are desirable though. Ganguly too me should get more leeway given his obvious status in the team - I admit that grugdingly though.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
Nikhil4eva said:
If you dont already know, a player can make the team on his fielding..he can suck at batting and bowling but the player can make the team if he is a good fielder.

Any side that picked a player with no ability with bat or ball doesn't deserve to do well IMO.

And no, Rikki Clarke doesn't count.
 

arjwiz

School Boy/Girl Captain
I'm waiting for the young keeper Dinesh Karthik to refine his skills. It probably wont be long before he's called up for the main event. From what I've seen of him, h's an absolutely perfect no.7 for any team. He can hit the ball HARD, something Kaif (and most others, like Parthiv, Gavaskar, Murli Kartik or Powar) cannot do.

Kaif though, definitely deserves a place in the team. He batted at 4 against Pakistan in the world cup, and made some 40-odd if I remember correctly. Kaif at 5 makes perfect sense. Now who to actually drop from the top is another question. What I'm saying is that Kaif warrants a place in the side.
 

superkingdave

Hall of Fame Member
What about Dinesh Mongia, does he have a future in the Indian side, if a player of his obvious ability cannot get into the side then the only reason i can see for India not being world beaters is mental frailty,
 

steds

Hall of Fame Member
I agree, Dinesh Mongia is a fantastic player, especially in one day matches (as he proved at Old Trafford last Tuesday against Warickshire)
 

viktor

State Vice-Captain
Nikhil4eva said:
If you dont already know, a player can make the team on his fielding..he can suck at batting and bowling but the player can make the team if he is a good fielder.And here is the thing, kaif does not suck at batting.Kaif comes in with a lot of pressure on him cause he know the team is down and out and it hard to bat then.Ganguly can't even push him up the order because there are batsman better then him on the team that need to go first.
i don't quite agree. the primary skill for which you have been chosen is where u r expected to make the biggest contribution. badani isn't much worse than kaif; indeed he is supposed to be one of the better fielders in the side given that he mans the point position in ODIs when yuvi isn't there. and he has contributeed more than kaif with the primary skill i.e. batting.

heres a comparision:
Mat I NO Runs HS1 HS2 HS3 Ave 100 50 0


kaif: 70 59 13 1373 111* 95* 87* 29.84 1 7 3


badani:40 36 10 867 100 77 60* 33.34 1 4 1


AA was booted out for a perceived lack of performance in the primary skill area (bowling) compared to Nehra when he is a much better bat and fielder ..
the keyword being "preceived" thats a different story...
 

Deja moo

International Captain
Kaif is a number 4 batsman , perfect for no 4 situations ....he runs the singles hard , IMO , he has been unfairly pushed to 7. IMO , Ganguly could use a jolt by being dropped for a series or too , and Badani played in his stead . The century Badani made vs Aus in 2001 was a typical middle order batsmans , with well run singles and boundaries at the end. Kaif and Badani in the middle order for India will be good for the runrate .
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
IMO he bats the same way as Hamish Marshall does..but Marshall bats at #3.
 

Nate

You'll Never Walk Alone
Jono said:
Argh this is going to hurt. :(

I have to eat my words and admit that Kaif isn't doing the job that the team wants from him. I don't think he's a number 7 batsman, he's a 4 or 5 but with India's current ODI batting line up, there's simply no room for him. His fielding skills are exceptional, and when he is on fire (Natwest Tropy 2002, 4th ODI against Pakistan 2004) he has the ability to win a match for India, but it's just not consistent enough.

That hurts so much because Kaif was one of my favourite players in 2002/03 :( But one or two knocks doesn't make a career, and doesn't solidify a spot in the team.
i strongly admire that you can admit you were wrong. thats something you dont find much on these threads...
 

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