If the history of cricket is written, two names will definitely make way into the list of most respected gentlemen who ever played the game. One is Rahul Dravid and the other Jacques Kallis. Apart from great admiration, the two of them share a massive 26577 test runs between them.
These two cricketers gave everything to the game and their respective sides without wanting anything in return. This is one reason why it is very tough to find their replacements.
If you look at their respective careers closely, you will find great similarities between them. Dravid started his international career at the same time around which Kallis did. Dravid has played 164 Test matches for India, which is just two less than Kallis’.
While dwelling more into their respective career stats, we found three amazing facts:
Kallis has just one more run than Dravid in Test cricket: As bizarre as it sounds, Jacques Kallis retired from International cricket at 13289 runs in Test cricket, which is just one more run than Dravid’s aggregate. Rahul had retired one year early to Kallis at 13288 runs.
Both made their test debuts against England: While Kallis made his Test debut in December of 1995 at Durham, Dravid played his first Test match in the year 1996. The opposition team for both of them was the same- England.
Both made IPL debut for the same side: Royal Challengers Bangalore happen to be the first team for Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid. While Dravid led the side in the first few seasons, Kallis played an important role of an all-rounder in the side. They both left the Bangalore franchise after 3 years.