Jacques Kallis: Virat Kohli can achieve whatever he wants to

Virat Kohli, who had to skip the recently concluded series with Sri Lanka due to personal commitments, will make his return to captain the national side as they take on the Proteas in January. One of the greatest all-rounders of all time, Jacques Kallis says the sky is the limit for hard-hitting Kohli, who racked up 1460 runs in 26 matches during this year at an average of 76.84. 

“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.” said Kallis in a recent interview with Hindustan Times.

Kohli currently tops the ranking for ODI batsman, and also holds the second spot in the Test ranking and the third spot in the T20 ranking charts. He will look to start the new year with a historic triumph by winning a series against the South Africans on their home turf - a feat that has never been achieved before.

He is set to reignite his competitive rivalry with fellow RCB teammate AB de Villiers as the two batsmen will go head to head against each other during the upcoming series. However, Kohli has insisted that the series is not just about the two players but reiterated his admiration for his counterpart, de Villiers.

“It’s not like only two guys are playing in this series. AB is a great friend of mine. I respect the way he plays the game and I’ve always respected him as a person as well. But when we’re playing against each other — it’s not that we cross the line with each other, we’re just not like that, we can’t — it’s just that we want to get AB out and the opposition will want to get me out or Pujara or Rahane.”  said Kohli in an interview after their first training session in Cape Town.

Kallis further added that the talent in the bowling department has seen considerable growth in the last couple of years, and will put the South African batsmen to the test. A bowling department that boasts the likes of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah, will look to make the most of the favourable South African pitches.

“They have a talented bowling lineup. The conditions here will suit seamers slightly more than in India. So it would be interesting to see how the bowling attack goes. It will be an interesting series.” Kallis further added.