Legendary batsman VVS Laxman has on Friday (June 12) paid tribute to his former India teammate and one the finest fielders of his era Mohammad Kaif for his electrifying fielding, as well as, inspiring a new generation of cricketers from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
In the past few days, Laxman has been on a spree of paying tributes to some of the finest cricketers he's played alongside and some who had an influence on him, both on and off the field on Twitter.
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After lauding the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, and Zaheer Khan, the legendary cricketer has now remembered one of the best fielders India has ever produced, Kaif.
Kaif, who was known for his remarkable fielding skills and a handy batsman in the middle-order, was credited for revolutionizing the Indian fielding in the 21st century with his stellar fielding efforts, pointing out the same, Laxman said the latter’s electric fielding was the benchmark thousands strived to emulate.
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Taking to Twitter on Friday, Laxman paid tribute to Kaif by saying: “A product of India’s robust grassroots structure, @MohammadKaif inspired an entire generation of players from Uttar Pradesh to shed their insecurities and play at the highest level. His electric fielding soon became the benchmark that thousands strived to emulate.”
Noteworthy, Kaif played between 2000-2006 for India, featuring in 13 Tests and 125 ODIs. He had recently said India’s fielding department has improved a lot over the past few years but still don’t have a complete package.
Kaif said on Sportscreen's YouTube channel: “Fielding is like batting. A complete batsman is one who has all shots in his book. Fielding is like that. A complete fielder is one who knows how to slide, your throws should be accurate, you need to run fast, your hand technique needs to be correct. So, all these things combined, you get a proper fielder. Now you will get a lot of good fielders. Indian fielding has improved a lot. But I still feel we don't have a complete package.”
(With ANI Inputs)
