Published: Dec 18, 2014, 10:22 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 18, 2014, 10:34 AM (IST)
Dec 18, 2014
Retired South African legend, Jacques Kallis has been roped in for the Caribbean Premier League 2014 draft. This news comes days after the CPL announced that the tournament will feature U19 players from ICC Americas regions and the West Indies. If players of Jacques Kallis’ caliber indeed play in the CPL, it will be a great experience for the budding stars.
The CPL is confident that all franchises will look to rope in Kallis in the 2015 draft. The draft is tentatively scheduled for early 2015. Kallis was equally upbeat about the opportunity, “I have really enjoyed playing in the Caribbean with The Proteas and am looking forward to hopefully returning for the CPL. It is an amazing place with amazing people and I am excited to see what team I will be playing for. CPL has produced some fantastic cricket and the fans really bring a special atmosphere so I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Tom Moody, the CPL international cricket director was of the view that greats like Kallis will provide a boost to the already popular T20 league. “The addition of these cricketing greats to the roster for CPL 2015 is testament to the growing success of the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’ which has grown significantly since its inaugural year. And, with players of this calibre getting on board, CPL is offering young Caribbean cricketers a great opportunity to test their skills against some of the best of their generation.” he said
Jacques Kallis is widely regarded as the greatest player to have graced the game and the amount of high-profile awards he has bagged over his illustrious career support the claim. He was named both ICC Test Player of the year and ICC Player of the year in 2005. In 2008, he went on to be rated as the Leading Cricketer of the year by Wisden.
Kevin Pietersen and Daryll Cullinan have also described Kallis as the greatest player ever. He has taken more than 11000 runs and 250 wickets in Tests and ODIs each.
