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The South African cricket fraternity heaped praise upon all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who will retire from Test and first class cricket at end of the second Test against in India which starts in Durban on Thursday.
Proteas coach Russell Domingo said the team will miss Kallis' presence.
He said Kallis had made an immense impact on cricket, not just as a player but as a human being.
Domingo says he's not sure that we'll see another player of Kallis' stature very soon.
Cricket South Africa president, Chris Nenzani, says Kallis' retirement marks a changing of the guard in the world game.
He will still be available for selection in the limited-overs formats, said national team media officer Lerato Malekutu in a
statement.
Kallis said of his retirement: "It's been an honour and a privilege to have been part of the South African Test team since
making my debut 18 years ago. I have enjoyed every moment out in the middle but I just feel that the time is right to hang up my Test whites.
"It wasn’t an easy decision to come to, especially with Australia around the corner and the success this team is enjoying,
but I feel that I have made my contribution in this format."
Kallis made his Test debut as a 20-year-old, and will finish his Test career as one of the greatest cricketers to have played the
game. His statistics speak for the illustrious career he has had, scoring 13,174 runs, taking 292 wickets and 199 catches.
Kallis will finish his career as having scored the most Test runs, most centuries (44), taken the most outfield catches, and
played the most Test matches for South Africa, with the Durban match to be his 166th.
The all-rounder has played the fourth highest number of Test matches of any team in the sport.
He is currently the fourth highest run scorer of all time in Tests, and will have one final opportunity to overhaul India's
Rahul Dravid, who lies in third with 114 more runs than Kallis.
Dravid (210) is also the only man to have taken more Test match outfield catches than Kallis. Only India's Sachin Tendulkar who retired last month, has scored more centuries (51) than Kallis in Test cricket.
"The last two years specifically have been a memorable journey
with an exceptional group of cricketers," Kallis said.
