As Virat Kohli’s stature as a world class leader has been growing unhindered over the past year. Praises have been pouring in with players, young and old in awe of the rapid strides the India captain has made since, both as player and captain.

His Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers has had more than a close look at this rise. As an opponent when India took on South Africa and when the two played side by sided in the Indian Premier League.

As it turns out, De Villiers never thought of Kohli as a player who would climb the ladder and one day be counted as one of the more sorted captains of the current generation.

“I think it has been an amazing journey to watch him grow as a leader,” de Villiers was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald. “I think, at the start, when people mentioned to me he has leadership qualities and might become a captain one day, I doubted it. I thought he was very emotional. Always a great player, but I thought he was emotional with his reactions. I think he has found a way to deal with it. He is still an emotional character, he loves winning, and is very passionate but he has found a way to really manage that and control that. I know he is a great asset for Indian cricket, he leads exceptionally well. He has shown he has skills with his captaincy and he has taken all the doubters and showed them he can conquer anything,” he explained.

De Villiers, in fact, feels Kohli’s new-found ability to control his emotions has its roots from the lessons he learnt while watching him operate.

“Something he has learnt from me is to control things a bit better; stay calm under pressure, and sometimes to hide the passion a little bit in order to make clear decisions and right decisions,” South Africa’s ODI skipper said.

“We have walked the same kind of road - I have played for 13 years, he has been around for nine or 10. I think he is on the same kind of road, realising it is not all about passion and energy all the time. You have to step back sometimes and make some clear decisions. I think he really is close to achieving that and that is maybe something he has seen from me.”

De Villiers heaped praise on Kohli and the manner in which he led the Indian side during the ill-tempered Test series against Australia.

“He did not have the best of series with the bat in hand but what stood out for me was his leadership,” he said. “He led from the front. I think that’s the greatest test for a captain - when you don’t do well personally and how you come through as a captain. He came through with flying colours. They beat the Aussies and the way they controlled themselves by not going overboard with the celebrations... They looked the opposition in the eye. I think all of those things come from him. He has become a true leader and I am excited to see how he is going to grow in the next five years.”

The praise has always gone both ways between the duo. Kohli has in the past claimed de Villiers to be the best batsman in the world. The South Africa ODI captain, though, felt it was not really the case.

“I don’t think I can be the best batsman (because) I don’t play all formats,” he pointed out. “He is definitely the best player in the world. He has got competition in quite a few players like Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and there are a lot of players — Quinton de Kock coming through — around the world. But I truly believe you can be the best player only if you play all formats in cricket. If you are in the top five in all three formats, that’s when you know you can really play the game.”

While de Villiers felt Kohli was ahead of him in terms of skills, he however agreed that the two were equal in terms of aggression, at least a few years ago it was the case, he added.

“I am a few years ahead of him,” he said. “I think I was very similar to him - play the game with a lot of passion, energy, and good skills, working hard at your game, not accepting defeat at all. He is always competitive, he is one of the most competitive people I have ever come across. I was very similar to that. I haven’t learnt that from him but it is nice to see the way he plays. That passion is probably something what I enjoy watching. He is giving me that passion in the old age.”

De Villiers in doubt for RCB’s second game as well

De Villiers, who missed the opening encounter of the tenth edition of the IPL, is likely to miss Royal Challengers Bangalore’s second match against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday as well.

The franchise will take a call on his fitness after a training session on Thursday, De Villiers informed. De Villiers also confirmed that he will not keep wickets during this season.

“Even though I’m very very keen to get on the field, I’ll make sure that I’m 100% fit,” de Villiers was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“Because, if you go on the park and you’re 90%, you might be out for longer anyway. It doesn’t make sense. I am going to test it [the back] out this afternoon. We’ve got a nets session. I’ll hit a couple of balls, see what it feels like, and then we’ll make a call.”

De Villiers was initially in line to be stand-in skipper while full-time skipper Kohli recovered from a shoulder injury. However, he strained his back while preparing to play in South Africa’s premier domestic one-day tournament prior to his arrival in India.

“I will definitely not consider wicketkeeping,” de Villiers said. “I’ll miss the next five years if I start keeping again. My back won’t allow that. My back is sore because of all those years of keeping.”