Jacques Kallis retires from all forms of international cricket

Zee Media Bureau/ Suyash Srivastava

New Delhi: South African cricket legend Jacques Kallis, who retired from Tests last year, announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect on Wednesday. Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed the news through their official account on micro-blogging site Twitter.

BREAKING #CSAnews @jacqueskallis75 retires from all international cricket http://t.co/31VWJuS4O3

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) July 30, 2014

After his retirement from Tests, CSA had said that the 38-year-old will be available for selection in the ODIs and he wants to appear in the ICC 2015 World Cup. But his decision came as a surprise for the cricketing fraternity, as his fans were expecting to cheer him at the ICC World Cup 2015. Kallis had a poor run with the bat in three ODIs against Sri Lanka recently, where he managed to score just five runs from three innings. "I realised in Sri Lanka that my dream of playing in a World Cup was a bridge too far," Kallis said in a statement. "Ï just knew on that tour that I was done. The squad that was in Sri Lanka is an amazing one and I believe they have a good chance of bringing the trophy home in March." South Africa are yet to win an ICC World Cup and Kallis's retirement from limited-overs cricket is for sure a major blow to their preparations. Kallis also took the opportunity to thank the fans who stood behind him throughout his incredible career. “I would like to thank Cricket South Africa, the team, the team sponsors, my sponsors, the fans and all the people who have been involved in my career. It has been an amazing journey. Kallis gave a gimmer of hope to his fans saying that he might be playing in some of the T20 tournaments. “I am not retiring from all cricket as I have a two-year contract with the Sydney Thunder and, if possible, to help the Kolkata Knight Riders defend the IPL title we won earlier this year.” Kallis is unarguably one of the finest all-rounders the game has even seen and his records in ODIs speak volumes about him. The right-hander played 328 ODIs for South Africa, where he amassed 11,579 runs and picked 273 wickets.