Jacques Kallis, one of the great cricket all-rounder of modern era, retires from International cricket

New Delh:Jacques Henry Kallis is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all Time. He is the only cricketer in the history of the game to score more than 11,000 runs and take 250 wickets in both one-day and Test match cricket. But now he announced his retirement from all forms of International cricket, thus bringing the curtains down on an illustrious career spanning nearly two decades. Though he will continue playing in the Indian Premier League and other T20 leagues. Take a look on the glorious journey of this great cricketing legendKallis has played 166 Test matches so far (excluding the second test against India) and has a batting average of over 55 runs per innings.From October to December 2007 he scored five centuries in four Test Matches; with his century in the second innings of the third test against India in January 2011, his 40th in all, he moved past Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest Test centuries maker, behind only Sachin Tendulkar with 51. He currently has 45 centuries and 58 half centuries in his name in test cricket.Kallis was named Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2008 Wisden for his performances in 2007 in addition to being the "ICC Test Player of the Year" and ICC Player of the Year in 2005 He has been described by Kevin Pietersen and Daryll Cullinan as the greatest cricketer to play the game, and along with Walter Hammond and Sir Garry Sobers is one of the few Test all-rounders whose Test batting average is over 50 and exceeds his Test bowling average by 20 or more.Kallis became the fourth player and first South African to score 13,000 Test runs on an eventful opening day of the first Test against New Zealand on 2 January 2013. Kallis, who has also taken 292 Test wickets, lies fourth behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,837), Australian Ricky Ponting (13,378) and India's Rahul Dravid (13,288) on the list of all-time run scorers in test cricket. He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year in 2013. The ICC Awards 2005 Test Player of the Year.His critics, particularly those who have a limited understanding of the dynamics of the South African team, accuse him of not dominating attacks he has already ground into the dust, of unnecessarily slow scoring, and of failing to take the match situation into account as he plots his innings. All of which hints at selfishness, which is quite ironical, because his team-mates vouch for the fact that Kallis bats the way he does precisely because he puts his team first and his personal ambitions some way behind. It's the only way he knows how.His made his test debut in December 1995 against England in Durban, but he struggled with the bat in his first few matches. Kallis made his World Cup bow in 1996 in Pakistan but did not have much opportunity to excel. His breakthrough came in 1997 with 61 against Pakistan, but more notably two matches later when he salvaged a draw for South Africa with a fighting century against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.Between 1998 and 2002, Jacques Kallis was one of the world's leading all-rounders. In 1998, he led South Africa to the ICC Champions Trophy title with two "Man of the Match" and the "Player of the Series" performances. Player of the Series" performance led South Africa to a stunning Test series victory against India in India in 2000. By late 2001 he was the world's number one ranked Test all-rounder, having held the same ranking in ODIs for the best part of 3 years. During this time, "Kallis blossomed into arguably the world's leading batsman, with a defensive technique second to none, and the adhesive qualities of a Cape Point limpet. In 2007, Kallis scored five centuries in four Tests, making him just the fourth man after Bradman, Ken Barrington and Matthew Hayden to score four centuries in four Tests on two different occasions. Regardless of style, Kallis has a remarkable batting average in the mid-50s, and is rated as one of the best batsmen in the world. Although still a very capable bowler with over 275 Test wickets, he impressed mostly with the bat between 2005 and 2007. As a result, he evolved into more of a batting all-rounder, a role in which he continued because of the emergence of Dale Steyn, Morné Morkel, and Paul Harris. Kallis is the only man to score over 13,000 runs and to take over 290 wickets in Test cricket. Sir Garfield Sobers managed over 8,000 runs and 200 wickets by comparison, at very similar averages.Kallis was awarded the captaincy of South Africa for the third and final Test match against Australia in 2006 when Graeme Smith stood down with an injury. Kallis currently holds a number of South African cricket records, including most ODI and Test runs, highest ODI and second highest Test batting average and most Test centuries by a South African. Kallis is one of only four players in Test history after Sir Donald Bradman and before Mohammad Yousuf and Gautam Gambhir to make a century in five consecutive matches, achieved in season 2003/04. In 2005, he set the record for the fastest half-century.In Test cricket history, scoring 50 against Zimbabwe off only 24 balls.In the 2007 World Cup Kallis was South Africa's leading run-scorer with 485 runs at 80.83. He was, however, criticised in the press for some slow performances which cost South Africa momentum at key stages in the tournament. In August 2007, he was omitted from the 15-man South Africa squad for 2007 ICC World Twenty20, and consequently quit as the Proteas' vice captain. He was restored to the team for the Test series against Pakistan, where he smashed three centuries in four innings and was awarded "Man of the Match" twice and "Player of the Series" to underscore his importance to the South African cause.In 2008 more responsibility was placed on Kallis as an all-rounder due to the retirement of Shaun Pollock. Despite the pressure an all-rounder began to emerge in Wayne Parnell who did some good lower-order batting. Kallis endured an uncharacteristically poor 2008 with the bat, averaging well under thirty for much of it. Against the ninth-ranked Bangladesh, he averaged just 25.75 in four Test outings. He also played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, where he averaged 16.85 runs per innings with the bat and 55.5 runs per wicket with the ball at an economy rate of 9.65 in the 7 matches he played before he was dropped.“I realized in Sri Lanka that my dream of playing in a World Cup was a bridge too far. I just knew on that tour that I was done. The squad that was in Sri Lanka is an amazing one and I believe they have a good chance of bringing the trophy home in March,” Kallis said in a statement released by Cricket South Africa.“I would like to thank Cricket South Africa, the team, the team sponsors, my sponsors, the fans and all the people who have been involved in my career. It has been an amazing journey.“I am not retiring from all cricket as I have a two-year contract with the Sydney Thunder and, if possible, to help the Kolkata Knight Riders defend the IPL title we won earlier this year,” he made it clear.