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Jacques Kallis retirement: Highest average for batsmen with over 20,000 international runs

Across formats, Jacques Kallis finished fourth in the all-time run scorers list.

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Jacques Kallis signed off from Test cricket with a match winning hundred in Tests © Getty Images

Jacques Kallis has retired from international cricket. In late 2013, he called it a day from Test cricket, but maintained that he looked forward to the ICC World Cup 2015. But, after a tough series in Sri Lanka, the all-rounder has called it a day. Nishad Pai Vaidya looks at a remarkable stat.

Jacques Kallis is a colossus! Just have a look at the numbers to get a sense of what the man was all about. In this day and age, when cricket sliced into three major formats, Kallis managed a prolific career, maintaining prowess with both bat and ball. It wasn’t just about the two major disciplines, but he was also one of the safest pair of hands at slip. In terms of all his records and achievements, Kallis is right up there and is assured of a place in the pantheon of greats in the sport.

If one considers the leading run-scorers in all formats, Kallis is placed at No 4 behind Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara. Here are the numbers:

Player

M

R

Ave

100s

50s

HS

Sachin Tendulkar

664

34357

48.52

100

164

248*

Ricky Ponting

560

27483

45.95

71

146

257

Kumar Sangakkara

559

25853

46.08

55

144

319

Jacques Kallis

519

25534

49.1

62

149

224

Mahela Jayawardene

622

24845

39.12

51

129

374

*(Table Includes Tests, ODIs and T20s)

If you have a look at this, you would find that Kallis has the highest average across formats in this list. For players with over 20,000 runs in international cricket, Kallis leads with an astonishing average of 49.10. He finishes with 45 Test tons and 18 in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). In terms of centuries, Kallis is only third behind Ponting and Tendulkar. This is only one aspect of the tale for Kallis. He is a cricketer who cannot be defined with only parameter.

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