Kaif made his Test debut in 2000 against South Africa in Bangalore soon after, and was selected in the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. His early international career was patchy, with the occasional outstanding performance backed up by ordinary batting. His most famous feat was helping India chase down 326 with a marvellous 87* (off only 75 balls) in the 2002 NatWest Series Final. The effort earned him his first Man of the Match award. In the series against Bangladesh in late 2004, he was named Man of the Series for his consistency in all the three ODIs. Kaif earned himself a Test cap against South Africa when he was 20. Although dropped after some ordinary performances, he made a good comeback to the Test side against Australia late in 2004 scoring two gritty half-centuries. He is a very fast runner between the wickets and an excellent cover fielder; most notably his agility and throwing accuracy. He also has the world record of five catches in a World Cup match. Although he was mostly known for his fielding ability along with Yuvraj Singh, he has often shown signs of a great batsman.

The team management tend to use him in the middle order, though his successes have almost always come playing high up - at number 3 rather than at number 7. He tends to score big when given the time to settle. His usual position in domestic games and in county cricket has been number 3. But given the number of players in that mold, such as Dravid, Raina and Yuvraj, Kaif has found it difficult to play at the number 3 spot on a consistent basis. With the arrival of Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid being appointed captain, the number 3 slot is given to either Irfan Pathan or Mahendra Singh Dhoni to accelerate the scoring rate.