Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar recalled a hilarious incident involving his former national teammate Mohammad Kaif after which the latter earned himself a new nickname. Sachin referred to an incident that happened recently during the Road Safety World Series in which retired cricketers had decided to come together to promote the cause of Road Safety.
Both Sachin and Kaif were part of the India Legends Side in the tournament. Tendulkar stated that Kaif was giving his all in the field despite retiring from professional cricket and being 39. Seeing him diving around, other players in the team started suggesting him to calm down as it was a long tournament.
“We had to tell Kaif to be cautious. We nicknamed him ‘bhai sahab, bhai sahab, thoda sambhalke.’ It’s the first match of the tournament and there are a lot of matches to be played,” Tendulkar said in a video uploaded on 100 MB YouTube channel.
“What if you pull a hamstring or something. It (diving and fielding quickly) comes naturally to him. He thinks if you are fit, you continue doing those things. He was a really fit guy. He was an outstanding fielder in team,” he added.
Kaif remains one of the finest Indian fielders ever. In the early 2000s, Kaif along with Yuvraj Singh saved hundreds of runs in the cover-point area in an era where Indian fielding wasn’t by any means the best in the world.
Kaif is best remembered by Indian fans for his Player of the Match performance in the 2002 Natwest Trophy final against England at Lords, London.