Why Kohli should be the next superstar

At 23, Kohli's numbers are already staggering. Kohli bats with intimidating authority and seems stimulated rather than cowed by pressure. There is also a remorseless ambition to his batting; as with Kevin Pietersen, a brash exterior sometimes obscures an unimpeachable work ethic, writes Rob Smyth in the Spin.

The alliance of that focus and a divine natural talent makes Kohli quite the package. He could – should – be the next superstar of world cricket. While modern cricket has a number of young box-office stars, most focus on the shorter form of the game. Kohli, by contrast, still believes in the primacy of Test cricket. "People asked me which hundred is most special to you and I said the hundred in Adelaide against Australia. I didn't have that feeling ever in my life, before or after – and I felt it today again," he said after making his second Test hundred. "I think that is the most satisfying, when you're being tested and your patience is being tested, your technique is tested and you manage to score a hundred – it always pleases a batsman."