Jacques Kallis announces his retirement, Durban Test vs India to be his last

South Africa39s legendary allrounder Jacques Kallis will retire from Test cricket after the second Test against India starting at Kingsmead here Thursday Kallis 38 however will be available for the shorter formats of the game Commenting on his decision the veteran of 165 Test matches said ldquoItrsquos been an honour and a privilege to have been part of the South African Test team since making my debut 18 years ago I have enjoyed every moment out in the middle but I just feel that the time is right to hang up my Test whites ldquoIt wasnrsquot an easy decision to come to especially with Australia around the corner and the success this team is enjoying but I feel that I have made my contribution in this formatquot Jacques Kallis is considered one of the best allrounders of all time File Pic Kallis made his Test debut as a young and humble 20 yearold and finishes his Test career as one of the greatest cricketers to have played the gameu00a0 ldquoThe last two years specifically have been a memorable journey with an exceptional group of cricketersrdquo Kallis said ldquoI am fortunate enough to have ended my Test career amongst a group of talented cricketers but more importantly friends whom I will cherish for years to come ldquoI donrsquot see it as goodbye because I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 if I am fit and performing ldquoWinning an IPL title with the Kolkata Knight Riders was a special achievement and I am still determined to taste that success with South Africa at an ICC eventrdquo Kallis was part of the Test team that became the world39s number one ranked side in the format after defeating England away in 2012 However he will have one regret not winning an ODI World Cup with the Proteas South Africa lost to Australia in the semifinals in the 1999 World Cup in England as well as in the 2007 edition in the West Indies The closest he has come to a major ODI trophy was when he played a stellar role in their victory at the ICC KnockOut Trophy in Bangladesh in 1998 scoring 37 runs and taking 530 to beat West Indies in the final He had earlier scored an unbeaten 113 against Sri Lanka in the semifinal of that tournament to propel his side into the summit clashu00a0 Praise from Proteas dressing room Proteas coach Russell Domingo says the team will miss Kallisrsquo presence in the dressing room ldquoThe impact Jacques has made on South African cricket has been immense not just as a player but as a human being Im not sure we will ever see another player of that stature very soon ldquoJacques calmness maturity and presence in the change room will sorely be missed and hopefully he will still be able to play a role in this teamrsquos success in the near future ldquoHe has ambitions of playing in the 2015 World Cup and it will be important for us to manage him accordingly so that he is in prime form leading into the tournamentrdquo Cricket South Africa CSA CEO Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat commented ldquoAlthough we all knew the retirement of a great player like Jacques Kallis was going to happen sooner rather than later his decision still comes as a blow when the reality dawns that South Africarsquos greatest ever player and arguably the worldrsquos best allrounder will be playing his last Test match in this last week of 2013quotu00a0 Captain Graeme Smith praised the veteran39s achievements but expressed sadness at his retirement quotIt39s been an emotional few days knowing JK Jacques Kallis retiringquot Smith posted on Twitter quotAll I can say what a privilege to have played with the great man Hopefully we can give him the send off he deserves over the next 5 days Gonna miss him immenselyquot Kallis has joined a slew of cricketers to quit cricket this season after Australians Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar England39su00a0Matthew Hoggard and Graeme Swann Going through a lean patch of late Kallis has featured in 165 Tests for South Africa scoring 13174 runs at a stunning average of 5512 He also took 292 wickets and 199 Test catches proving what a quality cricketer he has been for his team in the last 18 years Tendulkar39s record of 51 Test tons safe With 44 hundreds under his belt Kallis was closest to Tendulkar39s record of 51 Test centuries and the possibility of surpassing incredible figure by any batsman has diminished further Following Kallis39 retirement Sri Lanka39s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will remain the only active players who feature in the top10 century scorers in the Test cricket Tendulkar leads the list with 51 centuries and is followed by Kallis 44 Ponting 41 Dravid 36 Sunil Gavaskar 34 Brian Lara 34 Sangakkara 33 Steve Waugh 32 Jayawardene 31 and Matthew Hayden 30 Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene are already 36 years of age and their chances to surpass Tendulkar in the list look remote Kallis is currently fourth on the list of leading rungetters in Test cricket behind Tendulkar 15921 runs in 200 Tests Ricky Ponting 13378 runs in 168 Tests and Rahul Dravid 13288 runs in 164 Tests He is the greatest allrounder the game has seen atleast in terms of statistics leaving behind Sir Garfield Sobers 8032 runs 235 wickets 109 catches in 93 Tests and Sir Ian Botham 5200 runs 383 wickets 120 catches in 102 Testsu00a0