Rahul Dravid heaps praise on Jacques Kallis; says the South African is second only to Sachin Tendulkar
Rahul Dravid has heaped high praise on the great South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis. Kallis retired from Test cricket last year, but he is still going strong in limited-overs cricket with ambitions of winning the elusive ODI World Cup next year. He has stacked up colossal numbers over his long-standing international career and is one of the most respected cricketers of the current generation.
Speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on “Modern Masters”, a new video series on ESPNCricinfo, Dravid said, “I think he’s (Kallis) going to end up with some really record-breaking numbers. I think he’ll probably be second only to Tendulkar’s numbers overall if you look at it.”
“He seems pretty fit in spite of his workload. The fascinating thing is the number of injuries. He’s hardly had any major injuries considering he bats, he bowls. It’s almost unheard of and he looks like he can go on for a while.”
Dravid also feels that the reason for Kallis not to have been in the limelight, as much as his records in the game warranted, is because of the presence of other legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting in the same era as Kallis.
“For the longest time, we’ve been spoilt with the quality of batsmanship with people like Tendulkar, Lara, and Ponting who have played in the same era as Kallis. In some ways he has had to earn this right of approval by sheer weight of runs, sheer consistency of performance and by building up a record that is second to none and is probably going to surpass a lot of these greats. He’s forced you to sit up and take notice,” Dravid said.
Dravid, Kallis and perfect technique
Dravid, possessing a rock-solid batting technique himself, closely analyzed Kallis’ copybook batting technique and opined that it is his technique which has enabled him to have the success he has had over a long period of time.
“He has a little bit of an initial movement, a two-step movement. It is quite unique in some ways to South Africa. But the important thing to note is that even though he makes that initial movement or that initial shuffle of his, after that he is in a really good balanced position to go fully back or go forward as well when the ball is pitched (up).
“He has the ability to judge the line exceptionally well and leave well,” Dravid said.
Nearly impossible to replace Kallis
While no player is considered absolutely irreplaceable, Dravid feels that Kallis is the one player for whom it is close to impossible to find an ideal replacement.
“I think he’s going to be even more respected and revered once he leaves, because then it’s going to be virtually impossible to find a replacement for that kind of cricketer who bats in your top four, bowls a very heavy ball, takes wickets, catches in the slips. He does it all! We’re going to start appreciating and recognizing him a lot more once he leaves,” he said.
Dravid, having played with the South African in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, also had a glowing assessment of Kallis’ demeanour, with his unflappable nature irrespective of the situation being enviable.
“One of the things I noticed with Kallis, and I played with him for three years with RCB at the IPL, was just how calm and relaxed he is and how unflustered he gets irrespective of what’s happening around him.
“Whether he’s scored runs or whether he’s failed, his behaviour or his mannerisms never change. Sometimes you think he has almost no emotion at all but that’s not the case. He’s just able to maintain that calm balance without going up and down too much.”