We saw the talent in the early days in RCB when I was there: Jacques Kallis on Virat Kohli

Jacques Kallis, one of the finest all-rounders that world cricket has seen may have retired from the game but his heart still beats for cricket. Kallis brought his career to an end playing against India, in a recent interview the former Proteas all-rounder expressed his opinion about India’s tour to South Africa.

Kallis was asked about the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and India’s bowling line-up that has been called the best to have travelled to this part of the world. He holds Kohli in high regards having played alongside him for RCB in the IPL. The Protean praised him stating that he has evolved into a world-class player.

World-class player

Kallis was asked about the changes he sees in Virat since the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where the duo shared the dressing room in the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp.

”He has become a world-class player. Results have shown that he is a fantastic player. We saw the talent in the early days in RCB when I was there. I had an idea that he would become a really good player because he had the technique and temperament,” Kallis was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

In his view, Virat can achieve all he wants and it depends on factors like fitness and his hunger to perform at the highest level. “It depends on how hungry he is, how fit he stays and how long he wants to play for. He can achieve whatever he wants to as long as he wants to,” the 42-year-old said.

He believes that the hunger for runs plays an integral role in a player’s development, it will be important for Kohli to stay fit. Considering the current scenario, the 29-year-old is one of the fittest players in the world and his hunger for runs seems to be just growing each time he steps on the field.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a brilliant home season, he proved himself in both limited-overs cricket and the longer format. It still remains uncertain if he will feature in the lineup for the first Test given the conditions, the ball won’t swing a lot in the hot weather of Cape Town.

Ishant Sharma who has the ability to extract bounce from the surface may be considered given his experience of having already played here as well. Kallis thinks the key for the bowlers will also be their ability to adapt.

”They have to adapt and adapt quickly. These are foreign conditions and they are not used to playing on our wickets. They have to learn what length to bowl here. If they get to bowl in the right area, they can be useful” said Kallis.