Sachin knows when to stop, let him decide when to call it quits: Jacques Kallis

Jacques Kallis is a legendin his own ways. One of the best all-rounders in the game, Kallis dreams of being part of a World Cup-winning South Africa side and wants to win the IPL-5 to make Shah Rukh Khan feel proud. Talking on his retirement, the South African says he still has some cricket left in him, while on Sachin Tendulkar, Kallis says the Master Blaster knows when to stop and people should leave him to decide on that.

“I think Sachin knows when to stop. Look at his performance! He is still hungry to score runs, and he is still scoring regularly. I think we should leave it to him. Let him decide when to call it quits,” said Kallis to The Times Of India.

Talikg about Team Kolkata in IPL-5, Kallis says that KKR have a talented side, and one of the main strengths of Kolkata is that they have quite a few match winners. “We don’t really depend on one or two players. So, there’s no pressure on me. All my life I have tried to enjoy my game, and this time too I am doing just that,” says Kallis, adding that it’s difficult to predict the result. “All the teams are well prepared and they have some really good players. It’s too early to predict who would bag the trophy.”

According to an article in Hindustan Times, a new set of professionals are tiptoeing their way into IPL teams, swelling their already wide-ranging list of support staff. The new entrant comes with the tag of mental skills coach, motivational speaker or mental conditioning coach.

“While it's mostly those like the high-profile Rudi Webster, a sports psychologist, Mike Horn, an extreme adventure junkey, and Paddy Upton, India's former mental conditioning coach, donning these hats, Delhi Daredevils have made an interesting choice in hiring a yoga trainer, whose job is to keep the players physically as well as mentally fit,” writes HT, adding that James Harrington, an Australia-born and South Africa-based yoga trainer, briefly worked with the India team on their previous tour of South Africa.

Why, all of a sudden, is this scramble to get someone to work on the minds of the players? "All elite sportspersons know that success depends much on the mind. There are of course a few grey areas, in the sense many things can't be quantified, but the need for mental conditioning in pursuing success is undeniable."

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene and explosive England batsman Kevin Pietersen have joined Delhi Daredevils, a day after their Test series finished in a 1-1 draw in Colombo. Daredevils vice-captain Jayawardene said, “I know the Daredevils fans would have liked the Colombo Test to end in three or four days so that we could have played against RCB,” he said. Both batsmen got hundreds in the match England won to square the series. Paceman Umesh Yadav will be available for Tuesday’s match against Chennai Super Kings in Delhi, having recovered from cramp he suffered against RCB on Saturday