Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir

Chennai: Gautam Gambhir, captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has hailed vice-captain Jacques Kallis as the “most selfless” cricketer he has come across. Gambhir said so in a chat with The Telegraph.

Kallis had been the MoM in Friday’s emphatic win over the Kings XI Punjab.

The following are excerpts

Captaining a legend...

To be honest, I don’t like talking about individuals, for I lead a team, KKR, not any individual... However, Kallis is the most selfless cricketer I’ve met and, for me, more than his big achievements, it’s this selflessness which makes him a legend.

The message which Kallis sends out...

That selflessness is most important in cricket, that you can’t just be thinking about personal achievements... There was a time we asked Kallis to open and he happily did so... Then, when we wanted him to bat at No.3, he happily did that. He’s bowled with the new ball, he’s bowled at the death... He’s done everything for the team. That’s what Jacques Kallis is all about.

So, if Kallis is the ultimate team man...

Kallis is a fantastic team man... As I’ve told you, for me, his achievements are secondary... It’s his selflessness, at all times, which places him right at the top. For Kallis, the team always comes first.

Footnote: Kallis has almost 25,000 runs in Tests and ODIs. His tally of hundreds in those two formats is 61, with 44 of them in Test cricket. His is a phenomenal CV.