Virat Kohli needs to get his team to play for him as a unit, says Jacques Kallis

The first outing of the year for the Indian contingent ended in disappointment as they lost the Test series to hosts South Africa by a margin of 2-1. But yesterday’s match was proof that the young Indian squad has what it takes to dominate the limited overs format even away from home. The Men in Blue beat the Proteas at Kingsmead, Durban, by six wickets as Kohli and Rahane put up a brilliant 189-run partnership, with the Indian skipper also being adjudged Man of the Match for his knock of 112 runs off 119 balls.

Virat Kohli broke another record last night, as he became the first cricketer to score a century in every country where he has played at least one ODI. However, SA all-rounder Jacques Kallis feels that the 29-year old cricketer still has a lot to learn in terms of getting the best out of his players. 

"The records show for themselves. He has obviously got the record to prove that at home. But yes, he is the one who looks capable of playing away from home pretty decently. I think he is responding to the job pretty well. Obviously, he is still learning but the captaincy is about getting the best out of the team. If you can get the team to play for you, that's half the battle won," said Kallis in a recent interview to Mumbai Mirror.

Kallis, who had first noticed Kohli when he was part of the RCB franchise, has said that he is not surprised by the evolution of the Delhi-born batsman. He was all praise for the IPL as a platform for young Indian cricketers to showcase their talent in an attempt to make it into the national team.

"He has progressed magnificently and that was one of the benefits of the IPL. A lot of Indian youngsters get to play with big and world class players and are benefiting from that too. In the case of Virat Kohli, the IPL may not be the only reason for his development but the development may have happened faster for him. That is great to see, a youngster's evolution." the all-rounder added.

Known as arguably the greatest all-rounder of all time, Kallis also talked about India's all-rounder sensation Hardik Pandya, who has been compared to the likes of Kapil Dev. While the South African attested to the talent that the Indian possesses, he was quick to add that, he needs to be given time in order to fulfil his true potential.

"He seems to have the talent to become a good all-rounder. He is still young and he could learn a lot. I think he could carry on learning. He could become a really world class all-rounder. But you got to give the guys time to find their feet at the international level and get comfortable. Once he gets comfortable at that level, then that should really start moving along as a batter, as a bowler or in his case as an all-rounder," said Kallis.