Legendary cricketer Jacques Kallis found himself trending on social media platform X upon the conclusion of South Africa's first T20I of the four-match series against India, but it had nothing to do with the match itself.
Cricket Iceland, an account on X known for its banter and willingness to engage in back-and-forths with fans, posted a question: “If we exclude players from Australia, India, England, and West Indies, who is the greatest cricketer of all time?”
For most cricket fans, not having South Africa being a part of this list made the question a fairly simple one, with waves of users responding with what is the first answer most might think of when thinking of South African cricket.
{{/usCountry}}For most cricket fans, not having South Africa being a part of this list made the question a fairly simple one, with waves of users responding with what is the first answer most might think of when thinking of South African cricket.
{{/usCountry}}With over 1500 comments, plenty of users came to argue the case for Jacques Kallis, widely considered one of the finest cricketers of all time, who warranted a place in the South African XI as batter or bowler alone despite being an
“The one and only Jacques Kallis. There hasn’t been any EVEN if you include players from the top countries mentioned,” wrote one user. “Kallis. You could include all those sides and still make a case for him. Ultimate all rounder,” said another.
Who can rub shoulders with Jacques Kallis?
In a 166-Test career for South Africa, Jacques Kallis scored over 13,000 runs, good for the third-most Test runs by any player, and had an incredible boost through the fact that he took nearly 300 wickets.
Kallis is considered to be South Africa’s finest cricketer for his ability to contribute in every aspect of the game at a world-class level, and outside of legendary names such as Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, or Vivian Richards, is likely the foremost name in terms of all-rounders.
Some other names that were mentioned included Sri Lankan legends Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakarra, Pakistan greats Wasim Akram or Imran Khan, and New Zealand icons Richard Hadlee and Kane Williamson. However, by consensus, Kallis seemed to be by far the most popular choice for Cricket Iceland’s question.
India beat South Africa very comfortable in their first match of the T20I series, winning by 61 runs as a century by Sanju Samson and three-fers by Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi catapulted India to a dominant result.