Post Kapil Dev's retirement, only Irfan Pathan showed glimpses of early promise in both departments of the game before fading away due to injuries and Mahendra Singh Dhoni has always lamented about not having that balance in the side which a genuine all-rounder provides.
"It is difficult to produce seam bowling all-rounders in Indian conditions. I have toured India enough to have an idea about the conditions over there. The pitches there are certainly not seamer-friendly. The heat and humidity is an impediment towards producing a cricketer who can focus equally on both skill sets," Kallis, one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game, told PTI during an interaction.
When asked to name a stand-out all-rounder in current world cricket, the 39-year-old Kallis did not pinpoint anyone.
"There are a few but genuine all-rounders are hard to come by these days. Also when one aspires to be an all-rounder, one should be clear to himself as to what kind of all-rounder he wants to become.
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When questioned, how did he hone his skills, Kallis said, "I concentrated on my batting more and slowly added my bowling to it. In the beginning you have to concentrate on one area. That is the reason, whenever I batted well and had runs under my belt, I bowled well too."
"There are a few factors that makes AB the brilliant batsman that he is. He is mentally very strong, he understands his game which is very necessary. Then comes the technique. His basic technique is very sound which makes him excel across all three formats. He has tremendous talent but at the same time he is very focussed," concluded Kallis.