27 April,2009 08:24 AM IST | | Sanjjeev K Samyal
Jacques Kallis' sister Janine always finds herself egging on the opposition
It was tough to be in Janine Kallis' shoes yesterday. To be dancing when your brother is out first ball of the game is a tough ask for any sister. And that's what she did in her duty as a cheerleader when brother Jacques, who came out as an opener for Royal Challengers, was castled by Delhi Daredevils' left-arm pacer Dirk Nannes.
Janine is part of the cheerleaders' troupe based in Port Elizabeth and as luck would have it, she has been selected as a cheerleader twice to cheer for Jacques' opposition here at St George's Park. The first time was when Chennai Super Kings played the Royal Challengers on April 20. Yesterday, she was on the Daredevils' ramp.
Threat?
"I was cheering when he got out against Chennai, so he wrote to me on Facebook that if I ever dance like that when he got out, he would hit me on the shin with a cricket bat'. It was tongue-in-cheek," a giggling Janine told MiD DAY at the ground yesterday.
Kallis was dismissed as soon as she took position next to the stage on the left of the pavilion.
Janine said it was a strange feeling to be celebrating his wicket, as she has always been her brother's biggest supporter. "Being a cheerleader is loads of fun. But the only drawback is I am dancing for his opposition.
Obviously, I have to put up a front but secretly I am supporting him a lot. I spoke to him on the cell phone this morning and we are going to catch up after the game.
"And, he's probably got his bat ready to hit my shin for cheering against him," added Janine jokingly.
All for fun
How did Janine become a cheerleader? "I do hip-hop as well as modern dance and auditioned for the IPL. I am enjoying it. Our role is to have lots of fun and get the crowd together. I am also a physiotherapist based in East London."u00a0
Brother and sister share a very special bond after both their parents passed away. Younger to Jacques by five years, the 28-year-old stunning cheerleader said the natural feeling when Jacques' is batting is, "full of pride. He is just brilliant at what he does and he's got so much natural talent.
"We are always in touch on the phone, SMS, emails. Whenever I am not working, I watch his games.
"I make sure I follow his career and support him.
" I usually get tense when he is nearing his fifty or a hundred. And, most of the time it is magic just watching him."
Her brother may be a big celebrity, she says, but a nice person at heart. "He's a very nice man, very humble."
