The 36-year-old Kallis has made no secret of his desire to win a World Cup before he draws the curtain on what has already been a stellar career.
Kallis has played only one T20 international since for his country since May 2010, when he turned out in March last year against India in Johannesburg in a match held in his honour.
But Hudson feels that Kallis’s T20 skills, something that he was much derided for early in his career with some critics complaining that Kallis batted too slowly for the shortest form of the game, have been honed in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“I think he is desperate to register that one win and he plays a vital part in terms of opening the batting and his bowling and just being a wise head in this format,” said Hudson of Kallis.
“He has shown how well he does year in, year out in the IPL. I think there will be a massive effort from Jacques and hopefully success here will roll on to further success down the road,” he added.
The one major omission from the squad was South Africa test captain Graeme Smith. Smith has not played T20 international cricket since October 2011 but he would have harboured hopes of making the cut for the World T20 after being included in the 30-man provisional squad.
However, Smith was not included in the final 15-man squad but Hudson said that that majority of the squad picked itself.
“It pretty much chose itself for the first 12 players but then you have to consider with 13, 14 and 15 what your cover is and what happens if players get injuries and what happens if players don’t hit form etc.?
“I think it is a wonderful squad. I think it has a good balance of youth and experience. It has been selected with sub-continent conditions in mind and it has a lot of versatility and cover in terms of the batting and bowling departments,” Hudson explained.
South Africa have included two front-line spinners in offie Johan Botha and left-armer Robin Peterson in the anticipation of spin-friendly Sri Lanka pitches. Hudson said he had no concerns about the Proteas’ ability to compete in sub-continent conditions.
“A lot of the squad has played IPL so they have played in sub-continent conditions. Sri Lanka is slightly different to India but still, the wickets deteriorate and you have to take pace off the ball.
We have been through a thorough process (in choosing the squad) and I think we have given Gary (Kirsten) lots of options.
South Africa have been drawn in Group C with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe with their first match set for September 20 against Zimbabwe at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota.
South Africa Squad :
AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe
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