The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently shared a clip across their social media handles, wherein former Protea all-rounder Jacques Kallis was asked to predict the leading run-getter for CWC 2023.
Interestingly, Kallis while answering the question snubbed established names in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Steve Smith, naming this middle-order batsman ahead of them.
Jacques Kallis predicts Jos Buttler to shine at CWC 2023
The former South Africa legend has predicted England skipper and wk-batsman Jos Buttler to end up as the highest run-scorer during the showpiece event that kicks off on October 5.
Though Kallis himself admitted that his is an outside call, he has backed the hard-hitting right-hander to shine at the 50-over tournament.
“I think Jos Buttler will be the leading run-scorer (in CWC 2023). Outside call, but I fancy him in those conditions along with England having a good World Cup. I think he’s going to be the one guy that stands out,” Jacques Kallis said in the video issued by the ICC.
Notably, Buttler’s aggressive brand of batting and ability against spin has helped him perform exceedingly well in the Indian Premier League– where he has scored 3223 runs @37.92 off 96 matches, with 5 hundreds to his name.
The right-hander also boasts of an elite ODI record, having notched 11 hundreds and 24 fifties off 165 games despite regularly batting at Number 6.
However, it remains to be seen if Jacques Kallis had indeed placed his bet on the right man.
If Jos Buttler is able to replicate his international and IPL success into something substantial on challenging pitches that will be prepared for CWC 2023, it’ll help cement his place amongst the all-time greats of white-ball cricket.
Notably, Jos Buttler, as captain, guided England to their 2022 T20 WC title. He also made a vital contribution of 59 in the tournament final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, helping ENG level scores with NZ before beating them on boundary-count.