The all rounder of Kolkata Knight Riders, Jacques Kallis, has said that Shane Watson will be a big threat for his team in the match against Rajasthan Royals.

KKR will face Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday. That will be the second game for them in the ongoing IPL. In their first match against Delhi Daredevils, they had secured an easy win.

When these two teams had played against each other at this venue in the last edition of the IPL, KKR was defeated by 22 runs.

Talking to the reporters ahead of the match against Rajasthan Royals, Kallis said, “The Royals are a competitive side and they have got some really good T20 players. If Shane Watson gets fit for the second match, it would make them even more dangerous.”

“Watson is one of the best T20 players going around. If he is at the crease, the bowlers are always in danger of going for big sixes. So, it’s important to dismiss him as early as possible.”

When asked about KKR’s performance in the match against Delhi Daredevils, Kallis said, “We just nailed it that day. The conditions were in our favour and we took full advantage of that. It’s a great start and the momentum needs to be carried on now.”

When asked about the performance of Sunil Narine, Kallis said, “It’s very hard to pick his variations. He spins it both ways and any bowler of that kind would create trouble for the opposition. I don’t think there would be too much turn available here at Jaipur, but, still, he would be effective because he bowls with great accuracy.”

In the match against Delhi Daredevils, Sunil Narine had given away only 13 runs in his quota of 4 overs and had taken 4 wickets.

Jacques Kallis has said that the former Pakistani speedster Wasim Akram was the most dangerous bowler that he ever faced.

In his recent interview, when Kallis was asked about the great bowlers that he has faced in his career so far, he said, “I have faced a lot of great bowlers. Brett Lee, Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Courtney Walsh, they were all great bowlers. But, Wasim Akram was the best of them all. He was a genius. I haven’t seen a better fast bowler than him so far.”

Wasim Akram has recently resigned from the post of the bowling mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team for which Kallis plays. When asked about Akram’s contribution for KKR as a bowling mentor, Kallis said, “He contributed a lot for KKR. A lot of young Indian and foreign bowlers were benefitted by his presence in the KKR camp. He helped them rectify their weaknesses and also taught them the art of swinging the ball both ways. We will certainly miss him.”

Kallis will fly to India in a few days to play for KKR in the upcoming edition of IPL which will begin from 3^rd of April.

When asked about the chances of KKR in IPL 6, Kallis said, “We played brilliantly last year. We have got a very good combination of foreign and Indian players. The team is quite settled and we have got a great captain in the form of Gauti. We will certainly go into the tournament as one of the favourites.”

Kallis had played a fine knock in the final match of the last edition of IPL. He had scored 68 runs off 49 balls batting at no. 3. He had also contributed with the ball by dismissing the CSK opening batsman Michael Hussey.

Jacques Kallis has become the fourth batsman to cross the mark of 13,000 runs in test cricket. The 37 years old right hander crossed that mark while playing in the first test match against New Zealand. He hit a four through the third man area off the bowling of Doug Bracewell and became a member of the 13,000 club. Kallis later got out after scoring 60 runs in that inning.

The other three batsmen who have scored more than 13,000 runs in test cricket are Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting.

Talking to the reporters after achieving this milestone, Kallis said, “It’s a big landmark. When I had begun my career, I hadn’t thought that I would go on to score 13,000 runs in my career. It’s the reward of the hard work that I have put in over the years. I have never taken the things for granted and have always worked hard on my game.”

“I have been in decent form off late. I had played well in the test series against Australia and I played well today as well. Hopefully, I would maintain my form till the end of this series.”

Kallis is the only player in the history of test cricket who has scored more than 13,000 runs and has taken more than 200 wickets. Kallis has played 159 test matches so far in which he has scored 13,040 runs at an average of almost 57. He has also taken 282 wickets.

When asked about retirement, Kallis said, “Retirement is not something which I am thinking about at the moment. I am still contributing for the team and that’s the most important thing. When I will start feeling that I have become a burden on the team, I will quit immediately.”