Omission from team is difficult to handle: Kaif

DHARAMSHALA: Middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif, who has been in and out of the Indian team over the past few years, on Tuesday said it was difficult for a player to get into the groove after being dropped from the side.

Kaif said it was demoralising to be dropped from the squad and it took a while for any player to gel again with the teammates.

"It depends on how you see it. If you see all negatives then it will create problems. But, after playing 4-5 years with the team and then being dropped makes it difficult for any player to come back and get along," he said.

Kaif was referring to his omission from the playing eleven during the recent tri-series in Kuala Lumpur after a string of successful performances in the West Indies.

Kaif said he has always delivered whenever handed more responsibility.

"Yes, that helps. Like when I captained under-15, under-19 teams or even the state side, it had been challenging. People have expectations from you and you want to live up to that by setting examples for team members. I have been able to deliver my best in those situations and hopefully, I will keep doing so in future," he said.

On India's failure to make it to the triseries final in Malaysia, Kaif said the team lost some golden opportunities to script wins due to several reasons. 

"There were several factors responsible for this. Rains took a match away from us while we could not chase as low a total as 213 even after restricting a side like Australia. We should not lose such matches very often," Kaif said.

The Uttar Pradesh captain said in order to overcome his lack of match practice, he would utilise the opportunity of playing the four-day match against Sialkot to get into good nick.

"I have not played many matches after the West Indies tour. In Malaysia too I played only one match and could not make the most of it. So this would a good platform to have some practice before the Champions Trophy," he said.

Expressing happiness over his state team's consistent good showing in the domestic circuit, Kaif said a lot of things had come together to help the team raise its performance.

"It's always a matter of pride to play for your state. It's a good feeling that we are winning matches regularly and a lot of things go into that.

"A lot of youngsters are coming up after watching great players in action on television. The zonal competitions, training at NCA, tours of Australia and media exposure have contributed to the rise of the team to win the Ranji title after 72 years.

"Talented players like Suresh Raina and RP Singh are doing very well. We are sharing responsibilities and the experienced players are guiding the younger lot. So it's a good combination going and the future is bright. Only we have to stick to the basics and keep things simple to click in the long run," he said.