Former India batter Mohammad Kaif's numbers in international cricket aren't eye-popping but his contributions in some of India's famous victories will be indelibly etched in history. Kaif was part of the golden generation of the Indian cricket team, which under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, played outstanding cricket both at home and abroad. Kaif is always fondly remembered for his match-winning effort in the 2002 Natwest series final in England.
Kaif played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for the country and the bulk of his international career came under the tutelage of Ganguly. Kaif was recently quizzed to pick his best India captain and the former batter selected Ganguly without any hesitation. The cricketer-turned-commentator underlined some of Ganguly's amazing traits that helped India win several matches during that period.
"I would say Sourav Ganguly. I remember he told me that I should go out there and give my best shot and that he is there to back me, he is there to support me. That's a big comment. As a young guy, if you have a captain like Sourav Ganguly, you get emboldened while playing for India," Kaif said on DD India.
"Sourav Ganguly was amazing, he was fantastic. Captaincy means you need to be a leader - lead from the front, pick the right players and back them. Ganguly built the team," he added.
Ganguly led India in 49 Test matches during his career and his win-loss ratio as a captain is fantastic. India won 21 matches and lost 13 games in red-ball cricket under Ganguly's leadership. In ODIs, Ganguly was in charge of India in 146 matches out of which he led the country to wins in 76 games.
Ganguly was the captain of the Indian side that reached the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup. The Men in Blue were comprehensively defeated by Australia in the summit clash.
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