‘Some think he’s brash but he’s very down-to-earth’

Kohli still has the same circle of friends from school or his junior cricket teams.

“His upbringing was brilliant. His father, brother and mother always supported him – but never pampered him. They know the values of society, and they brought him up very well,” says Rajkumar.

“He has not added to his friends over the last few years just because he has become a superstar,” adds Lokapally. “He has a very close circle of friends whom he has known from his much younger days. Normally when they acquire fame, people tend to cut off connections with their roots – but in his case he has been very faithful to his friends.

“People wrongly portray him as brash. He is not brash, he is competitive and confident. People mistake that as arrogance. But he has never shown any disrespect. He has a lot of respect for former players and cares for them.

“Whenever he is in Delhi and there is a Ranji Trophy match on and he is not playing, he will make a point of going to sit with his team.

“I find he is down-to-earth, no matter what he has achieved,” he adds.

Every cricketer has a different life story to tell. Kohli’s – from riding his bike to the West Delhi Academy with his kitbag dangling on the handlebars to being the captain of India – reveals a lot about the sort of competitor England will have to overcome if they are to win this Test series.