Gibbs slams ex-teammate Kallis' 'pick and choose' policy while playing in Proteas squad

Former South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs has said that he is disappointed by the way the veteran Jacques Kallis picks and chooses when he plays for the national team.

Kallis last played ODI cricket at the beginning of 2012, when he decided to give up limited overs cricket to concentrate his efforts in the Test arena, although he was always available for the extremely lucrative Twenty20 tournament Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sport24 reports that even though Kallis has since changed his mind and made himself available for selection again following South Africa's disastrous 4-1 ODI-series loss to Sri Lanka in July, and the 2015 World Cup looming, however, Gibbs said that he is surprised at the attitude of his former teammate.

Stating that there is no one bigger than any team or the game, Gibbs, whose crowning glory was a match-winning innings of 175 in the Proteas legendary 438 game against Australia in 2006, also said that a player cannot determine when he wants to play or vice versa, adding that he needs to keep on playing to make his mark in the game.

Citing former Australian captain Ricky Ponting's record, Gibbs said that Ponting had scored hundreds in abundance in Tests and ODIs, adding that it would be unfair for the team to overlook Kallis' casual attitude towards the game given Ponting's record.

Gibbs further said that the responsibility was on management to handle the situation differently, adding that the coach and the selectors should not have allowed that to happen.