Jacques Kallis is viewed as one of the best all-rounders to play the game of cricket. Over his 18-year long career, Kallis went on score 25,534 runs across all formats of the game and he also registered 55 scalps with the ball in hand. So, it is only fair to ask him on who he sees as the better all-rounder between Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes. In an interview with NDTV on the sidelines of Legends League Cricket, Kallis spoke about being an all-rounder and the chances of India and South Africa at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“These two (Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes) are world-class all-rounders. All-rounders are something you need to look after; they don’t come around often. I am sure both of them will play a big role for their respective teams. It will be a good battle between both of them,” Kallis told NDTV.
India and South Africa are currently squaring off in the three-match T20I series and both sides would look to use this series as a source of figuring out their best playing XI ahead of the T20 World Cup, set to be played in Australia.
When asked about the chances of India and South Africa at the upcoming mega event, the 46-year-old said: “I think both India and South Africa would be up there in terms of teams to watch out for in the T20 World Cup. It will be an important series in India now between these two teams even though the conditions would be different. I think these two teams would be up there, in World Cup, you need luck to go your way and stuff like that. Hopefully, especially from South Africa’s point of view, it will be a good World Cup for us.”
Ahead of the series against South Africa, skipper Temba Bavuma went unsold in the auction for South Africa’s marquee T20 league, named ‘SAT20’. Kallis, however, opined that the entire team would rally around Bavuma and his focus right now should just be on the World Cup.
“I think the team will back him. The coach has come out saying they will back him. And it is a totally different competition, his focus should be entirely on the World Cup. The most important thing for him should be to focus on the World Cup,” said Kallis.
Kallis, who is currently playing for Gujarat Giants in the Legends League Cricket, also spoke about the experience of playing the tournament, and he also shed light on the highlights from his career.
“It has been good fun. The guys have enjoyed catching up with each other, not surprised with how competitive it has been because the guys are naturally competitive,” Kallis said.
“We always knew it would be competitive, the guys have really enjoyed it. I think it is great, it shows that Legends League has something to offer. It will go from strength to strength,” he added.
“People and players have enjoyed it, I think there is a bright future for it. I think I have always been someone who has looked after my body. That’s the reason I did not have many injuries throughout my career. I enjoy the fitness kind of things, it is just a natural thing for me,” said Kallis.
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He also spoke about the ups and downs of his storied career.
“I think the lowest would be not winning a World Cup. The highest highs would be winning in England, Australia. That was the couple of highlights that stayed with me,” he stated further.
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