INDIAN coach John Wright, in his informal chats with the media during the Sri Lankan tour, often stressed on one word: balance.
How to find the right mix between the batsmen and the bowlers, unearthing that extra man or men who might eventually hold the key, either in attempting a win or holding out for a draw.
And then he would quickly come to terms with the harsh truth. Just where are the genuine all-rounders in the Indian cricket scene? A wry smile would soon cross the Kiwi's lips.
Indeed, the all-round, all-action men provide their side with so many options. The very nature of their job - we are talking about the real ones here - enables them to save places in the XI, give it depth.
Now, close your eyes for a minute and assume India had someone like the versatile Jacques Kallis in its ranks. And then look at the astonishing difference he could make to the side.
For a start, the South African would provide stability to the top and middle-order along with Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar and produce big scores with an intelligent blend of attack and defence.
When his team went out to field - this is the vital part - he would send down 15 to 20 overs of sharp pace enhanced by movement and bounce, removing pressure off the specialist bowlers, keeping the heat on the batsmen, picking valuable scalps along the way. Such is the remarkable fitness level of the man that he could operate with the same hostility at the fag end of a long, hot, tiring day. Not to forget his spectacular catching in the slip cordon.
With Kallis around, India could actually select an additional seamer or a spinner according to the nature of the surface, or if the situation demanded, an extra batsman too. A precious commodity this South African certainly is.
Now open your eyes and the reality sinks in. Sadly for Wright and India, this extraordinary cricketer would actually be turning out against India in its South African campaign!
The sheer effort this man puts into his cricket is staggering. He seldom gets tired, seldom gives less than 100 per cent.
And this stems from an in-born willingness to contribute all the time, a desire to win more battles than one, an unquenchable thirst for success.
In a team bristling with all-round talent, he manages to stand out - this is staggering in itself. Skipper Shaun Pollock, one of the finest 'corridor' pacemen in contemporary cricket, is rediscovering himself as a batsman, yet he is not quite in the same bracket as Kallis with the willow.
Lance Klusener, an explosive customer at the crease on his day, is a rather limited bowler these days, following a series of injuries. The South African's present role is to deliver nagging off-cutters, and though he has had his share of success, is much less of a threat nevertheless.
Nicky Boje, with his tidy left-arm spin and compact ways with the bat, is a useful cricketer, yet Kallis belongs to a different category. An elite league.
This also brings us to the big question: Is Kallis presently the leading all-rounder in world cricket?
His great rival Chris Cairns, a high voltage cricketer when in mood, has been laid low by a career-threatening knee injury, and though the Kiwi is slated to return when New Zealand plays in Australia later this year, there are doubts whether he would ever be the same bowler again.
And many believe Cairns would figure more as a batsman in the XI, who might bowl at a reduced pace as and when the team requires. In other words, he would not be the same force.
This also suggests that Kallis is the new No 1. An awesome feat, for he is in an outfit of all-rounders, and could so easily have been submerged under the weight of other displays.
The Kallis success story is even more remarkable if we consider the fact that for the initial three years of his international career, he was principally a batsman who could turn his arm over as a stop-gap bowler.
All that changed in the ICC Knockout tournament in Dhaka that preceded the 1999 World Cup. The Western Province player took key wickets, moving the ball around at a sharp pace, and capped his display with a championship clinching five-wicket haul in the summit clash against the West Indians. A major turnaround for him as a bowler it was.
With the ball, the strongly built 26-year-old South African is extremely deceptive; he can be surprisingly quick off a relaxed, seemingly unthreatening, run-up and has on occasions hustled the batsmen into submission.
Kallis uses his powerful shoulders exceptionally well to generate speed and the wrists to move the ball briskly both ways. He possesses a mean short delivery that can soften batsmen and has put the yorker to good effect in the ODIs. An aggressive bowler, forever on the look-out for wickets.
Kallis' rise as a paceman has been rather dramatic and the cricketer is only three short of 100 Test wickets (Avg: 27.53, five five-wicket hauls), apart from scalping 117 batsmen in ODIs (Avg: 29.26, SR: 38.1, ER: 4.60).
And with the willow, he belongs to the top-rung, a cool, beautifully balanced batsman with a wide array of strokes. A lovely driver on either side of the wicket, the South African can put away the short balls ruthlessly.
Yet, all his shot-making ability is backed by sound defence and a steely resolve. With his intense eyes and strong frame, he is reminiscent of a soldier in a battlefield and he has certainly been that for South Africa on the cricketing arena at the crucial No. 3 slot.
A natural player of pace, Kallis has diligently worked on his methods against the spinners and it is not uncommon to watch him use his feet to the flighted deliveries, coax the ball into the empty areas, and run his singles and twos energetically.
Kallis, with 3340 runs in 52 Tests (Avg: 46.38, nine 100s) and 4462 in 127 ODIs (Avg: 44. 17, SR: 68.69, seven 100s), is among those rare batsmen who averages well over 40 in both forms of the game.
Figures that reflect both his ability to construct an innings and slip effortlessly into varying roles. He accumulates runs at a fair clip, though critics have rather unfairly dubbed him as an one-paced batsman.
He has indeed journeyed a long way subsequent to his rather disappointing debut against England at home in the 1995-96 series when he gathered just 57 runs in three Tests.
Looking back, the breakthrough innings for Kallis was his match-saving hundred in the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne, 1997, where he also handled Shane Warne exceptionally well on a wearing pitch.
Raise the bar higher and you can trust Kallis to surmount it, such is the combative streak in the South African. An exceptional cricketer, who would make most sides in the world, either as a batsman or a bowler.
A blue-blooded all-rounder, who should present a daunting barrier to Sourav Ganguly's Indians when the battles commence. Jacques Kallis will be gunning for glory once more.
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