Gary Sobers is universally acknowledged as the best all-rounder to grace international cricket. This was on account of the fact that there was nothing he could not do on a cricket field and everything he did therein personified grace and brilliance. He was easily the best batsman of his generation and could destroy any type of bowling, besides being able to bat at any position. He could bowl left-arm medium pace as well as left orthodox and unorthodox spin. He was a superb fielder close to the bat, especially in the slip cordon, besides being the captain of West Indies side for close to 8 years. 

Each generation of cricket lovers have their favourites as to who will come closest to Sobers as an all-rounder. The decades immediately after the World War II saw performers such as Keith Miller of Australia and Vinoo Mankad of India, who were versatile with both bat and ball. After a brief lull in the 1970’s cricket world was lit up with the amazing presence of four fast-bowling all rounders — Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Richard Hadlee — each of whom was capable of winning Test matches with their performances, during the next decade. However, in the years since, there has only been one cricketer who could invoke comparison with the legendary Sobers by the sheer weight of runs scored and wickets taken — Jacques Kallis of South Africa.

Unlike other all-rounders who preferred to bat in the middle order, except during the rare situations that warranted their presence in the middle earlier with the willow in hand, Kallis was a full fledged top order batsman. He was the first choice of South Africa to bat at the crucial No. 3/ 4 position in the batting order during most part of his playing days. He was also a fast bowler who invariably opened the bowling for his side. Thus he combined the twin roles of being the leading run getter as well as a key strike bowler of his team. None of the other great cricketers listed above had carried such a heavy workload on their shoulders during the whole extent of their career. This fact alone should  serve to highlight the the pressure he carried on his shoulders each time he stepped on the field of play.

Kallis was fortunate in that his active playing days commenced after the return of South Africa to international cricket arena in 1991. This ensured that he was not denied the opportunity to showcase his skills before the larger global audience, as happened to the previous generation of cricketers from his country. Kallis was spotted early by the talent scouts and he was a member of the South Africa under -17 side before he made his debut in first-class cricket. A short stint as a professional at the club level in England helped him to sharpen his technique and move up the rungs. He got the call from the national selectors in December 1995, when he was included in the South Africa side for the third Test of the series against England. However, Kallis did not set the Umgeni river, which flows near Durban, on fire on his debut as he could scratch just a single run in the only innings he batted and was not asked to turn his arm over during the rain-ruined game.

After this inauspicious start, Kallis took time to find his groove in the world of international cricket. He scored his first century in Test cricket only in December 1997, a full two years after making his entry to this level. Gradually he moved up the batting order and finally cemented his place in the No. 3 spot. His batting blossomed to such an extent that he scored centuries in five consecutive Test matches – four against West Indies at home and one against New Zealand while on tour – during the period from November 2003 till March 2004. There was no turning back after this achievement and his wicket came to be regarded as the most valued one by the opposition bowlers in the years that followed. 

South Africa had a top drawer pace attack comprising of Allan Donald, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock and Brian McMillan when Kallis joined the squad. Mkhaya Ntini joined this attack soon thereafter, thus making it a much feared and respected one in international cricket. It was only after Donald and Klusener retired that captains started to depend on the services of Kallis. His responsibilities as a bowler increased manifold with the retirement of Pollock and Ntini. In his later years, Kallis was a key member of the attack that oversaw a smooth transition to the generation of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.  

Kallis belongs to the rare breed of players whose greatness can be gauged through sheer statistical data in terms of runs scored, wickets taken and catches held. He is a member of the exclusive club of batsmen who have scored more than 10’000 runs in both Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs). His total tally of 24,868 runs (13,289 in Tests and 11,579 in ODIs) places in him at the fourth position- behind Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting, in the list of top run-getters in these forms of the game. His record of 45 centuries in Test cricket is second only to Tendulkar, who stands tall in 51 hundreds to his credit. His career average of 55.37 in Tests and 44.36 in ODIs stand as testimony for his consistency in both these formats.

Kallis finished with a tally of 292 wickets in tests and 273 in ODIs. He is the only cricketer, other than Sobers, who finished with an average exceeding 55 with the willow and below 35 with the ball in Tests. His tally of 200 catches in Tests and 131 in ODIs shows his remarkable skills as a catcher in the slip cordon, which lent an added edge to the South African pace attack.

Kallis’s batting was built on orthodox principles involving tight defence and copybook stroke play. He was never flamboyant with the bat and seldom did he play any shots which were not available in the coaching manual. He knew when to grind for runs and was adept at accelerating the scoring rate when required. In this regard, he was more akin to Rahul Dravid than to Sobers or other more colourful all-rounders of the past. He bowled at speeds which could be classified as fast medium, but his ability to swing the ball late and generate exceptional bounce off a classic side arm action made him a dangerous proponent with the ball. It was Kallis’s conservative approach to the game that restricted his appearance in T20 Internationals to a handful. He played 7 seasons in Indian Premier League (IPL), where he maintained his reputation as a solid performer, though without producing any pyrotechnics with the bat or ball.

One finds that despite his humungous achievements, Kallis has not been given the credit he so richly deserves by critics and followers of the game. This is on account of two main reasons. The first is that he was unfortunate to be part of a South African side that got labelled both as “unlucky” and “chokers” for their inability to win any major championship conducted by International Cricket Council (ICC) during his playing days. This failure to elevate the level of cricket on the big stage at critical junctures and relative paucity of match-winning performances cast a shadow on his claim for greatness. The second reason was the circumspect manner in which he played the game, cutting out aggression and flourish, which led to him being named as a drab and dull customer. It is for these reasons that he finds himself bereft of the halo that lights up the images of Kapil Dev and Imran Khan, despite the lesser tally of runs and wickets, overall, against their names.

Kallis, who turned 50 during the week that went by, was involved with the game as coach and batting consultant for teams in IPL as well as South Africa and England sides, after his retirement from active cricket in 2014. Like in his cricketing days, he chose to maintain a low profile while carrying out these responsibilities also. He married late, in 2019, and the couple have a five year old son.

Happy birthday Jacques Kallis! Wish you a productive and fulfilling life in the years ahead!