Virat Kohli | Indian World Cup Squad | 2015

In his formative years, dating back to when he led India to the Under-19 World Cup triumph, Virat Kohli was a superbrat — brash, volatile and insanely talented. As he transformed into a superstar of the cricketing world, the many bristles that used to rub people the wrong way were reduced to a few.
With hundreds coming every other day, the need to celebrate with expletives got minimised. The maturity and controlled aggression on display have been both reassuring and refreshing.
In the 2011 World Cup triumph, his contributions were not earth-shattering, but crucial — not least the steadying 35 in the final. It ended with the quote of immortal grace about Sachin Tendulkar carrying India for all these years — perhaps a poignant signal that the man to take over the burden had finally arrived. However, he came of age as the shining light of the future during the Australian tour of 2011-12 — even as all around him glorious luminaries dimmed with age. His fighting innings at Perth and the maiden Test hundred at Adelaide demonstrated immense class, while the 86-ball 133 against Sri Lanka in the CB series saw him step into the zone of the very special.
With technique and temperament to succeed in every condition and format, Kohli cutting loose is one of the exalted sights of the modern game — be it for India, Delhi or Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is already at the rarefied top of the ODI and T20 formats, while taking continuously improving strides to get there in Test cricket as well. His style is based on the sound fundamentals of batting, topped with the finishing flair of god-gifted genius. The grand and glittering strokes are essayed all around the ground, in a fascinating cocktail of graceful dominance and silken brutality, often in a spate of successive strikes that belie imagination and credulity. Not many have his ability to change shots at the last possible moment, even fewer can execute the slog-flick with such perfect nonchalance.