South Africa's former cricketer Jacques Kallis celebrates his birthday on October 16 (Wednesday). The South African cricket legend turned 44 years old today. Kallis is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to ever play cricket. In his 19 years long cricket career for South Africa, Kallis played 166 Tests, 328 ODIs and 25 T20Is. Kallis holds the record for being the only player in cricket history to score 10,000 runs in Tests and ODIs each and bag more than 200 wickets in each of the formats. As the legendary all-rounder turns one year older on Wednesday, here we will look at some lesser-known things to know about the former Proteas cricketer. Kolkata Knight Riders Part Ways With Head Coach Jacques Kallis and Assistant Simon Katich Ahead of IPL 2020. 

Kallis account for a marvellous bowling and batting stats in cricket. In 166 Tests, he scored 13,289 runs and took 292 wickets. In 328 Tests, he hit 11,579 runs and clinched 273 wickets. These figures absolutely prove that Kallis is one of the greatest all-rounders to ever play cricket. He has also bagged most player of the match awards in Test cricket (23) so far. Below are five lesser-known things about Jacques Kallis which many of you may or may now know. Jacques Kallis Frustrated With South Africa's Dismal Show After Proteas Lose Two Back to Back Matches in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. 

 

  1. Kallis shared a close relationship with his late father Henry Kallis. When he learnt that his father is suffering from terminal cancer, he took time out of cricket to take care of his father.

  2. Jacques Kallis’ younger sister Janine Kallis was a cheerleader in Indian Premier League 2009.

  3. Kallis married his long-time girlfriend Charlene Engels in January 2019.

  4. Kallis has bagged multiple top ICC rankings in his international career. He was once a top-ranked batsman in Tests, top-ranked all-rounder in Tests, number one batsman in ODIs and number one ODI all-rounder.

  5. Kallis has established Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation which aims to provide opportunities to talented youngsters to reach their full sporting and academic potential.

Kallis also bagged many other achievements in cricket. He was also the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in ICC Champions Trophy history. Kallis is also the first cricketer to earn player of the match in Champions Trophy final and player of the tournament in 1998 edition. Post his retirement from international cricket, he also played IPL tournaments. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008, 2009 and 2010 editions of IPL. Later, he played for Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011 to 2014.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2019 07:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).