Over 24,000 runs, 550 wickets and 300 catches in international cricket. A champion gamer would be proud of achieving these numbers while playing a cricket video game. However, there’s a man who has actually piled up these figures on the field while playing around the world, against different opponents, at the highest level, for over 17 years.

Numbers don’t lie. And these numbers scream at the top of their voices that Jacques Kallis is the greatest all-rounder of all time. The fact that he has been batting one-down and bowling genuine pace for so many years speaks volumes about his fitness and consistency. It’s not an easy job, and hence, the breed of pace bowling all-rounders is becoming rarer by the day. Kallis believes the increasing quantity of cricket is the reason for this decline.

“There are probably not too many around at the moment. It’s probably because of the amount of cricket being played. It seems to be a little low at the moment, but hopefully in a few years time there will be a few that will come through,” he said.

Known for his class and solidity in Test cricket, Kallis has incredibly cracked the Twenty20 code as well. A great testament to his versatility is his success in the IPL. In a tournament where the cream of international cricket amalgamates, there are few pace bowling all-rounders. And we got the best of the lot to speak about the rest.

Here’s what Kallis had to say about the few men who represent the rare breed that he belongs to:

Shane Watson 

Shane has been around for a while and he has produced goods for Australia for a long time. He is a quality cricketer and an important part of Rajasthan Royals.

Albie Morkel

He is a dangerous hitter down the order. He is a different type of all-rounder. He uses the new ball up front and gets the bowl to swing nicely and is aggressive with the bat.

Dwayne Bravo

He is a quality all-round cricketer. He can bat pretty much anywhere, and he is a clean striker of the ball and he is also very useful with his medium pacers.

Paul Collingwood

He has been around for a while as well and obviously knows his game. He has got a real mature head and understands the game pretty well. I think these are his strengths.

Kieron Pollard

He is sort of new to the scene and has been around only for a couple of years. I’m pretty impressed with him. He’s obviously a very dangerous player and very important to his team.