Don't play for accolades, but to win: Kallis

Jacques Kallis was recently named one of the five cricketers of 2012 by Wisden as he had performed exceedingly well for South Africa in that year. When asked about this, Kallis he said, “I obviously had a pretty good season with South Africa and it’s nice to be rewarded for that. But having said that, you don’t play the game for those accolades, you play the game to win for the team you are playing for. So nice as it is to win the accolade, it’s nice that the team had a good year as well.”

Kallis also mentioned that he is still enjoying his game and will play till his body holds out. “Yeah, getting on in life now … I’m 37, but still hungry, still enjoying it,” he said. “There’s still a lot to achieve in the game. As long as I wake up in the morning hungry to play this game, wanting to get results for the team that I play with … I’ll go on till the body holds out”.

“I’m not a big one for setting personal goals. I prefer setting targets for the team and helping the team out in situations. My target would just be to make great decisions during big moments in the games.”

Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach Trevor Bayliss has said that having Kallis in the team has allowed for a greater amount of flexibility. “He just keeps doing it – batting and bowling,” he said. “The longevity he has shown at the very highest end of the cricket world has been fantastic and as I said, he continues to do it. He’s one of the greats of world cricket. He’ll be remembered for a long time when he eventually gives it away.”