"We simply wanted the name of the youngest of our three sons to end with an 'F' so that it matched with the names of his elder brothers, Asif and Saif. So we ended up with Kaif," says Qaiser.

End of story. Beginning of story.

As the same Kaif carves out a niche on the cricket field, his mother adds: "Little did we realise that his ‘kaif’ (which stands for 'junoon' or passion) would one day have him soaring beyond our dreams. We had never thought that it would fit so well with his passion for the game."

For Kaif's father, Mohammad Tarif, though, it all fits.

Perched on a wooden deewan beside his wife in their humble tenement in Kydganj, an obscure by-lane in Allahabad, Tarif says matter-of-factly, "I had always nurtured dreams of my sons making their mark in cricket."

For Tarif, who represented Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy for 17 years, that dream was realised when Asif and Saif made it to the state Ranji Trophy squad. But it is Kaif -- born in 1981, the same year Tarif made his last Ranji appearance -- who has managed to overtake his father and elder siblings on the emerald turf.

Kaif’s must be a rare case where the career of every male member of the family has been made and guided by cricket. "Not just me, each of my three sons owe their jobs to cricket," admits Tarif, who is a Chief Inspector of Tickets in the Allahabad division of the newly carved out North Central Railway.

'For Kaif, cricket is a junoon that goes well with his name'

Frequent travellers on the Allahabad-New Delhi Prayagraj Express could not have missed Tarif, a fair-complexioned, well-built 56-year-old man performing ticket-checking duty until a few months back. And, of course, if you were interested in cricket, he would have, perhaps, updated you with the very latest.

While Asif has followed his father into the Railways, Saif and, now, Kaif are on the rolls of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), "all thanks to the sports quota".

"As a little kid, Kaif was a reluctant starter, but I would insist on giving him some practice with a tennis-ball on the brick-paved lane outside this house. Soon he developed interest and got others of his age-group to join him," recalls Tarif.

But it was the Asif and Saif who felt that their little brother had it in him to scale greater heights.

"Soon my elder sons and I started taking Kaif to the Madan Mohan Malviya stadium, where we pushed him into a coaching camp for children under-12, and it was here that he began to display his talent," says Tarif.

"The following year, after he finished his Class VIII and proved his mettle at the coaching camp, Kaif was moved to the Green Park stadium Sports Hostel in Kanpur, where he stayed till he got his first call-up for India in March 2000, against South Africa, in a Test match at Bangalore.

For Kaif, a member of India's under-15 side and later captain of the team that won the under-19 cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka in 1999, the selection was a natural progression.

Though he was dropped for a year after that match, there was no looking back since he got drafted back into the side for a three-Test series in Sri Lanka in July-August 2001.

"Now he has played four Tests and 46 one-dayers without a break and I pray it continues," hopes Tarif. Strangely, the parents have not watched a single one of Kaif's international matches. "We will go see him only after he earns a permanent spot in the side. So far we regard him as only 'temporary'," quips the salwar-suit clad father, in his typical sarkari lingo.

"What gave me an inkling that this boy had a natural flair for cricket was when he once pointed out where I had gone wrong and why I had got bowled early in a match," says Tarif. "While initially I chose to take his observation lightly, on second thoughts later in the evening I realised that he was absolutely right."

Mohammad Kaif

Kaif's father made it a point to thereafter pay more heed to the little son's advice and observations. "I must confess today that I could never prove him wrong," he says, adding, "and you know what, now when I try to find fault with his batting, I am unable to do so."

Absolutely media-shy, Kaif's parents were virtually in the hiding when this scribe knocked at their doors. Literally swarmed by media persons after their lad took India to victory against New Zealand, both Qaiser Jahan and Tarif had slipped out to a relative's place to avoid interviews.

It was only after much chase and with the intervention of Kaif's brother, Saif , who was contacted in New Delhi, that the simple and unassuming couple, opened up.

Every minute the phone rings and while the young callers ask for 'Kaif bhaiya', the older fans shower their congratulatory messages. "Sure enough, it is a pleasure to hear praises and sweet words. But for how long is it humanly possible to go on answering such calls," they ask, frankly.

The parents have nothing against miscreants who threw dirt at their house after India was defeated by Australia last month. "We Indians are emotional people. So such outbursts are natural," says Qaiser Jahan.

"The day Kaif scored 87 against England in the NatWest final, as also when we defeated Pakistan and New Zealand in the World Cup the other day, we were literally carried by people in their arms as everyone danced with joy and burst crackers to enliven another Diwali," points out Tarif.

While Kaif's parents remain glued to the newly acquired 29-inch flat screen television, father Tarif avoids watching the match when his dear Kaif arrives on the pitch.

When Kaif is turning tables in favour of India, his parents choose to divert their attention to something else.

"When we were playing England, I turned off the TV soon after Sachin Tendulkar was out. I gave up all hope and decided to go to a place where there was no TV. So both my wife and I went over to a nearby cinema hall to watch 'Devdaas', only to be told about India's victory after enthusiastic rejoicing crowds mobbed the hall and carried us away," he recalls.

"Ditto the New Zealand match. I was very apprehensive. So I went over to a friend's place where I knew they would not be watching the match. It was only after my elder son rang me up to say that Kaif had scored 45 that I decided to hastily return home and watch him play the rest of the game," he adds.

Being a cricketer himself, Tarif is very apprehensive about seeing his son tumble. "He plays well, but what pains me is when I see him failing to fulfil his ultimate objective -- to contribute towards the team's victory. I know how committed he is towards the team and I too would not mind even if he were to score a paltry 20 runs, as long as he can do his bit to bag the World Cup."

While Kaif's little sister, Asma, is busy promising all her Class IX friends to fulfil all their demands for autographs when "Kaif bhaiya" returns, mother Qaiser Jahan has been observing roza (fast) ever since the World Cup began last month.

"Well, I do not wish to make any public announcement about this roza, but yes, I am only praying that my Honey (Kaif's nickname) does his bit to ensure that the World Cup comes back to India; and let me tell you I have a gut feeling that these boys will win the Cup this time."