Mohammad Saif was born into a cricketing family and has a love of the game that has taken him from Allahabad to Ontario. His father, Mohammad Tarif, played at first-class level for almost 19 years, and his younger brother is Indian Test batsman Mohammad Kaif. He is a down-to-earth man who played a big role in encouraging his clearly more talented sibling into the international arena and now he hopes that his enthusiasm and dedication can inspire club cricketers in Canada to new levels.

Still only 30, he arrived at Waterloo Sunrise Cricket Club and joined straight into practice after travelling for more than 24 hours, then went for a 5 km run after the session was over. He went on to score a century in his first game for the club.

Saif is a powerful allrounder who played at Under-19 level for India in the late 1990's and has played alongside International stars such as Ashish Nehra, Gautam Gambhir, and Virendra Sehwag and against players of the calibre of Brett Lee and Mike Hussey. His medium pace bowling was often relied upon to pick up useful wickets but batting is his stronger suit, one such example being when he smashed 56 from just 19 balls in the quarter final of one of India's domestic cup competitions.

Sep 18, 2000 Mohammad Saif, Portrait, 2000 © Cricinfo Ltd

Jan 22, 1999 Mohammad Saif, Portrait © Cricinfo Ltd

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