Why Virat Kohli is indisputably and deservedly the athlete of the decade

In an era of one-dimensional specialists, Kohli is a specialist across formats, a cricketing polymath of sorts who insists on playing a different sport to his peers

Over recent weeks, I’ve been repeatedly going back to one particular Virat Kohli shot. He produces so many, each marked by such startling precision, that it’s almost impossible to single one out. Yet this particular one keeps coming back to me. It’s a reflection of a very rare form of practised nonchalance — a sterling illustration of consummate skill, singular audacity and unflinching belief. It’s a stroke of pure genius.
 
It’s against Chris Woakes from Pune in 2017. The Englishman pitches it short, slightly back of a length. Kohli, as if he’s spent weeks preparing for this very ball,