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Cricket is as significant as religion for this veteran?s family
THIS FAMILY follows two religions-- Islam and cricket. For Islam, Mohd Tariff went to perform the Haj only last year, for cricket, he is now grooming his eight-year-old grandson Saquib to play for the country.
THIS FAMILY follows two religions-- Islam and cricket. For Islam, Mohd Tariff went to perform the Haj only last year, for cricket, he is now grooming his eight-year-old grandson Saquib to play for the country.
"After Honey (Mohd Kaif, for the uninitiated), I want yet another member of my family to devote his life to cricket and excel at the international level," says Tariff, father of three cricketer sons— Mohd Asif, Mohd Saif and the most talented Mohd Kaif.
Son of a volleyball player, Mohd Yakub, cricket and Tariff are made for each other. "I took to serious cricket at the age when kids take primary education," he recalls his days at KN Katju School.
"The school, which is situated few yards from our house was more of a playground for us. I and all my three sons started off playing at the same ground," he says.
While he and his two sons had to contend with playing upto Ranji trophy level, his youngest lad needs no introduction today.
A hard hitting batsman of his time, Tariff is a veteran of 67 Ranji trophy ties.
"I have over 3000 runs to my credit with batting average of around 30 and over 50 wickets," boasts Tariff while remembering his cricketing encounters with veterans like Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny and Anshuman Gaekwad.
"Playing against these opponents with mates like Haider Ali and Mushtaq Ali was an experience in itself," says the man who has served Railways as a cricketer for over 17 years.
"I joined Railways as a Ticket Collector (TC) way back in 1962 under the sports quota," adds the player who is all set to retire as Chief Inspector Traffic (CIT) this year.
"It has been an awesome journey throughout and it is a matter of contentment that cricket has been the source of bread and butter for me and my sons," he reminisces while sipping his routine coffee at Coffee House in Civil Lines.
Interestingly, all his sons are serving different organisations under the sports quota. While eldest Asif is at AGUP, Saif and Kaif are senior officers with ONGC.
A die-hard fan of Sir Garry Sobers, Tariff regrets not being a part of modern-day cricket. "The game has undergone a sea change and has become more interesting and demanding," he observes while remembering his inning of 168 runs against Punjab and 99 runs against Rajasthan.
"Those were really memorable," says the prolific batsman of his times who has also served Mohammaden Sporting as a professional cricketer for two years.
Looking forward towards the upcoming Indo-Pak series, Tariff feels pure cricket is all set to entertain fans from both sides of the borders.
"Teams are equally talented and so results can't be predicted.
But I feel home conditions give Pakistan an edge," he comments while reserving his comment on Kaif being dropped from the Test squad for the tour.
