But his career didn’t get off to a flying start. It is one that has been grafted into greatness bit by bit, particularly during the early part of the decade, before truly blossoming over the last few years.

On his 31st birthday, we look at the big performances from his career, and how far he has come.

107 v Sri Lanka, 2009 (ODI)

Having averaged a paltry 13.50 on his last tour of England in 2014, Kohli was desperate to make amends. He scored a fighting century in the first Test of the series, at Birmingham – a knock of 149 after one of the all-time epic tussles against Jimmy Anderson. No other Indian batsman crossed 26. Kohli followed it up with 97 and 103 two games later, at Nottingham.

They weren’t his most fluent knocks, nor did he compile a mammoth score like he does so often now (he has seven double centuries, the most by an Indian, and all post-2016). Yet, it was a testament to how Kohli has buried his personal demons against the moving Dukes ball and evolved into a complete batsman.

He later rated it as his second-best knock in Test cricket. “This could come second to Adelaide (2014). Adelaide remains very special.”