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Arguably the best all-rounder in cricket history, Jacques Kallis listed out two major reasons behind the lack of all-rounders in modern-day cricket. Kallis said that the amount of cricket being played now and the substitute/impact player rule in T20 leagues is the reason why all-rounders have been scarce as well.
"It is a tough question to answer, all-rounders don't come around every day. There aren't many throughout the history. Lot of things, amount of cricket that is played certainly plays a role," Kallis told PTI during an exclusive interview.
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Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coach who is currently playing in Legends League Cricket (LLC) is not in favour of the 'impact player' rule as it gives the team liberty to include an additional batter or bowler.
"A few T20 competitions have substitutes (IPL) and I am not a big fan of that as it takes away the all-rounder out of your team. The teams that do not have good all-rounders are now playing with 12 men. I am not a huge fan of that.
"There are lot of little things that add up on to why there aren't too many all-rounders at the moment, as it is surprising as they add so much value to the game. But it's a whole lot of little things coming together," Kallis said.
The impact player rule was introduced in the previous season of IPL. Many criticised the move as it may not incentivise franchises to include all-rounders in the side.
Kallis feels that the upcoming Test series against India at home will be a closely contested one and the games’ outcome will depend on just one or two sessions.
"This is a good Indian team but South Africa is tough to beat in South Africa. Centurion will probably suit South Africa and Newlands will probably suit India. It will be a good series and it will come down to one or two sessions that one team might play better than the other. It would be a closely-fought contest," said the 48-year-old.
Kallis has 13,289 runs in Tests, 11,579 runs in ODIs, and 666 runs in T20Is. Also, he has 292, 273, and 12 wickets in Tests, ODIs and T20Is respectively.
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