If Mohammad Kaif, with his awkward stance and the jerky backlift is chalk, Wasim Jaffer’s languid grace at the crease fame is cheese. But when the two batsmen lead their Ranji teams, they are like twins separated at birth.

With Mumbai meeting Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy final at Hyderabad next week, the two skippers will cross swords and the similarity in their approach to leadership will be hard to miss. For Jaffer, this is his first season as captain but chances are that Mumbai won’t be touching the leadership issue for some time now. The same is true for Kaif, who is leading UP for the fourth straight season.

Regardless of the situation, the two captains rarely raise their voice in the dressing room. On the field, they both stay poker faced and feel that being too animated is not the best way to convey messages to their team mates. And, most importantly, they both enjoy unconditional respect from not just overawed juniors but even seen-it-all seniors.

UP’s 19-year-old opener Tanmay Srivastava calls Kaif his best motivator. “He always treats me, or any other junior, as an important member of the side. We were involved in couple of big partnerships this season and it was a pleasure to bat with him,” he says.

Easing the pressure

Giving an example about how Kaif’s quips lighten up pressure during a tense situation, he recalls an incident from a game earlier this season. “I had hit a stroke that went to the fence. He came up to me and said, ‘Kya shot hai. Aaj to sham ko chai pilana padega’. Such comments don’t just relax you but even give a lot of confidence,” says Srivastava.

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