Kaif: ‘Nasser Hussain called me a bus driver’

Mohammad Kaif, India’s hero in the NatWest Trophy final against England in 2002, revealed the nasty secret on Twitter after 16 years of silence.

Mohammad Kaif (extreme right), Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh (left) with the NatWest Trophy at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2002.

 

Among the overseas victories, the NatWest Trophy final in 2002 at Lord’s Cricket Ground is a lovely memory for the Indian cricket team of the time. Led by an aggressive Sourav Ganguly, it thrashed England by two wickets, with three balls to spare, in its own backyard.

Mohammad Kaif (87*) and Yuvraj Singh (69) held their nerves to help India chase down 326 after Ganguly declared the game open with a 43-ball 60 upfront.

Read: The day of the Young Turks

Kaif, who regularly interacts with his fans on social media, revealed a nasty secret on Wednesday. When a fan asked him if there was any sledging from the English players in that match, he disclosed how the then England skipper Nasser Hussain demeaned him. “Yes, Nasser Hussain actually called me a Bus driver :) was good to take them for a ride!”

Yes, Nasser Hussain actually called me a Bus driver :) was good to take them for a ride ! https://t.co/wUeeUnowdN

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 27, 2018

 

One of his fans summed up Kaif’s character, “That’s graceful of you to have never mentioned it before and maintaining ur dignity,” he wrote.

That's graceful of you to have never mentioned it before and maintaining ur dignity..

— The Dark Knight (@CapedCrusader07) February 27, 2018

 

This is not the first time Hussain's bitterness for India came out in the open. In 2011, he invited trouble for calling a few Indian fielders ‘donkeys’. Sitting in the commentary box in an India-England T20 game, Hussain said, “I would say the difference between the two sides is the fielding. England are all-round a good fielding side. I do believe that India have few...3 or 4 very good fielders and one or two donkeys in the field still.”