Kallis retires from international cricket Johannesburg, Wed, Jul 30 2014 Text Size Decrease font Enlarge font Kallis has retired from international cricket. © Agencies Legendary South African all-rounder, Jacques Kallis ended his dream of winning the World Cup as he announced his retirement from all formats of international cricket. The all-rounder had announced his Test retirement after the Boxing Day Test against India, last year, but had made it clear that he would like to continue in the shorter format and represent his side in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The 38-year-old released a statement through his countrys board, Cricket South Africa (CSA), saying he realized he was done after his disappointing outing in the series against Sri Lanka. He played all three matches in the series, scoring a meagre 5 runs in the matches, while not bowling at all. I realized in Sri Lanka that my dream of playing in a World Cup was a bridge too far, said Kallis in a statement. I just knew on that tour that I was done. The squad that was in Sri Lanka is an amazing one and I believe they have a good chance of bringing the trophy home in March. I would like to thank Cricket South Africa, the team, the team sponsors, my sponsors, the fans and all the people who have been involved in my career. It has been an amazing journey. The 38-year-old, who has been a mainstay for South Africa since making his Test debut in 1995, will continue to play club cricket despite calling it a day in all forms of the international game. He is a part of the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and Big Bash side Sydney Thunder. I am not retiring from all cricket as I have a two-year contract with the Sydney Thunder and, if possible, to help the Kolkata Knight Riders defend the IPL title we won earlier this year. Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, showered praises on their talismanic all-rounder, saying Kallis is undeniably one of the greatest players ever to have played the game South Africa has been blessed with one of the worlds greatest cricketing talents in Jacques Kallis. He is undeniably one of the greatest players ever to have graced our wonderful game and he has certainly been the Proteas standard-bearer of excellence for nearly two decades, Lorgat said. He has played a huge part in making cricket a truly national sport of winners and, in doing so, contributed so much to the important process of nation building. He is a true professional and it has been an absolute privilege to have worked with him both as Convener of selectors and now as Chief Executive, the former ICC (International Cricket Committee) chairman added. To say that we will miss him on the playing field is stating the obvious. Each one of us from this day on will treasure the many fond memories of his awesome career. On behalf of CSA and all our stakeholders, I would like to sincerely thank Jacques for his huge contribution to the game of cricket and wish him only the best as he moves on from the international playing arena. Kallis ended with 13289 runs and 292 wickets in Tests, while aggregating 11579 runs and 273 wickets in the 50-overs format. He also played for RSA in 25 T20I, scoring 666 runs and claiming 12 scalps. He leaves behind an unprecedented and possibly never-to-match legacy of being the only player ever to score more than 20,000 international runs and take 500 wickets.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:22:27 +0000
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