'I am not far off from being the best'

Watching Mohammad Kaif on the field can be a full-time profession. He is always on the move; always looking for the important breakthrough that could be the difference between victory and defeat. But if your attention wavers, you will lose track of his exploits.

Off the field too he is as fidgety. Virtually every aspect of the middle-order batsman's life seems to be governed by his restless nature. It almost seems as if he has too much energy to burn.

Perhaps, the most-settled aspect of what appears a very jack-in-the-box like existence is his ultimate goal: to make it big in the world of cricket.

The 24 year old from Uttar Pradesh came up with some heartening match-saving performances for India in the latter part of 2004 that convinced all watchers he is here to stay.

Senior Cricket Correspondent Ashish Magotra caught up with India's finest fielder while he was in Mumbai on a short visit last week.

Towards the end of 2004 the Indian team was struggling as a unit, but you maintained your form. How did you to do that?

Probably, because I love a challenge. The team was not doing too well and I had a few quiet games with the bat. The media and commentators were quick to criticise. It doesn't really matter to me, but I love being out there in a pressure situation and delivering when the team needs it. That's what inspires me. When the team is not doing well someone has to stand up and set an example and say you are there for the team.

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A lot of people have asked me about my fitness routine and everyone wants to know how I am so fit and able to maintain my intensity for the entire duration of the match. It's one of those things that I won't say is natural. But, when I was young, I used to play a lot of different sports -- soccer in the rain, tennis-ball cricket or any other outdoor sports for that matter. I used to have such a great time playing with my friends that we used to lose track of time and just keep playing for hours on end. After a point, the last thing on our minds used to be tiredness and we just wanted to keep playing.

As a result, I would not get tired even as my teammates wilted. At the same time, joining the sports academy (at the age of 12) in Kanpur helped me a lot. I was quite lucky to be part of that for eight years, where I used to do my training in the morning and the evening. All I knew was running on the ground and fielding. No gym work; just outdoor sports.

I had a cousin who studied in Kanpur for a while and he stayed in a hostel too. Fitness for them (at his cousin's hostel) meant getting up every morning and running for a few kilometres.

Was it similar for you too?

Precisely. That's what fitness is all about. No one really knew what fitness meant. Fitness meant running. Now it is getting up in the morning, running 40 minutes and in the evening another 40 minutes. Obviously, in the outdoors in tends to get very hot but we would go on playing. I played a lot of different sports and, in one way; I was very lucky to get a lot of freedom from my family.

So do you still get the opportunity to hang on and play with your friends?

Recently I had a Ranji (Trophy)match cancelled due to heavy fog in the morning and I seized the opportunity to go out and play with a few local boys. It was fun.

It in the recent Test series against Australia you got back into the team after a long time and came up with a good performance. How much confidence did you get from that series?

Yes, definitely the experience will help me a lot in the future. Our team's form wasn't very good but, individually, I was very happy with my form because they (Australia) are the number one side in the world and their bowling attack of (Glenn) McGrath, (Jason) Gillespie, (Shane) Warne and (Michael) Kasprowicz is superb.

I was very nervous to begin with because I wanted to make sure that I made full use of my opportunity. So, in a way, I was quite lucky that I performed well.

Do you think you have now moved ahead of Yuvraj Singh for a place in the Test team?

As a player I really don't think about these things. Competition and the other player's form are not things that you want to focus on. You want to focus on a thing that you can control, and that is your form. You get a chance to play and all you have to do is score runs. So I want to keep things very simple when it comes to cricket.

You came into the side as someone who had captained the India under-19 squad, as a very, very promising player. Now do you feel you have achieved enough?

I see myself as a very different player from those days and I hope I can continue improving. I started at number seven in the batting order and that is never an easy position to bat in. It is difficult to come in at that position and score 35 to 40 runs in every innings. Everyone in the team knows it is a tough position to bat in and I had a few bad games and didn't do too well for my team.

The thing is that in India they will quickly look at your past few innings and say that this guy hasn't got a fifty in his last 7 to 8 innings. But nobody realizes that how difficult it can get. I would love to have more overs to bat and prove my skill and ability.

But I want to look ahead from this point. I am in the zone and feeling good about myself. From this point you will see a different me.

Coming back to your question, I think I have done reasonably well. Don't look at only my batting but also take into consideration my fielding.

Who do you feel is the best fielder in world cricket right now? Are you the best?

(Grins) I don't know. But, to be honest, I am not far off from being the best. There are always areas to be improved upon. If you look at world cricket, every team is starting to become a very good fielding side, because they have realised the importance of this aspect of the game. I don't really see anyone very special. There used to be Jonty Rhodes; his skills and commitment were superb.

On the playing field, you also seem to be a great motivator, constantly cheering the boys and urging them to fight. Where did you develop that?

At a young age I captained my state Under-16 and Under-19 teams and, maybe, as a captain you feel a lot of responsibility as a player and you look to set the example. So, from an early age, I wanted to be the one who would set the example.

As one of India's fielding captains, what are you thoughts on India's fielding. Would you say it has improved from last year?

I would not say it has gone down. But, to be honest, there are definitely areas that need improvement. And it's not just me, but everyone in the team feels the same. Ever since John Wright has joined the team, fielding has been his pet project because he realises the importance of it.