Ricky Ponting hails Jacques Kallis as 'best cricketer ever'
04 Feb 2025

Legendary Australian cricketer and former captain Ricky Ponting has named ex-South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis as the "best cricketer to ever play."

Ponting made the declaration during his appearance on The Howie Games podcast.

Notably, Ponting's choice came as a surprise as he overlooked Indian cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

Kallis had also played for RCB and KKR in IPL.

Ponting praises Kallis's exceptional cricket career
Career highlights

Ponting also emphasized Kallis's phenomenal career numbers, such as his 13,000-plus runs and 45 Test hundreds.

He also lauded Kallis for his 300 (292) wickets in Test cricket.

"Either one of those careers is outstanding," Ponting said.

He then went on to call Kallis a "born cricketer" with an unorthodox yet effective technique in the slips fielding position.

Kallis's impressive international and IPL career
Career overview

Kallis enjoyed a phenomenal 19-year-long international career, featuring in 166 Tests, 328 ODIs, and 25 T20Is for South Africa.

He amassed 13,289 runs in Tests and picked up to 292 wickets.

In IPL, Kallis represented RCB from 2008-10 and then KKR from 2011-14.

Under Gautam Gambhir's captaincy at KKR, he won two titles.

Ponting believes Kallis is underrated and overlooked
Underrated talent

Despite all that he has done, Ponting believes Kallis is overshadowed because of his low-key nature and less media attention.

"I think he's the best and the most underrated because he's not talked about very much at all," Ponting said.

He added Kallis's quiet nature could have made him "one of those forgotten-about ones."