5 Questions India Fans Would Love to Ask Virat Kohli

With the Test captaincy already his and the one-day armband surely set to follow, Virat Kohli is fast becoming India's most important cricketer.

Kohli's ascent to superstardom hasn't been entirely smooth, though. There have been spats with opponents, rows with team-mates and some alarming losses of form along the way.

What was the real story behind the on-field rucks? Does he respect the Australians? Why is Jimmy Anderson such a nemesis?

Here are five questions we think India fans would love to ask Kohli.

Chasing a target of 329 in the World Cup semi-final against Australia in Sydney was always going to be a tough ask. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma got India off to a flier, though, putting on 76 for the first wicket in less than 13 overs.

The stage seemed set for Kohli to play a career-defining innings. Instead, he scratched around for 13 balls for just one, sucking all the momentum from the Indian reply.

Yes, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood bowled well, but where was the devil-may-care attitude from the previous Test series? Was it the pressure of the moment? Chirping from the Aussies? Or just quality bowling?

You'd think that being able to bowl at 95 mph would automatically grant a bowler a healthy amount of respect. Not so Mitchell Johnson, at least as far as Virat Kohli is concerned.

The pair clashed during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 2014 after Kohli was hit by a wayward shy at the stumps from the left-arm paceman.

Kohli put any discomfort to the back his mind, going on to score a magisterial 169. After one boundary he even blew Johnson a kiss.

The Indian didn't hold back in the post-match press conference, though, saying, per the Guardian: "If someone doesn’t respect me, I have no reason to respect him. ... I have got a nice friendship with a few of [the Australia players] but someone who is not backing off, someone who is saying anything that comes to mouth, I have no reason to respect him.”

Despite ending up on the losing side, Kohli dominated the Test series, scoring 692 runs. Johnson would have the last laugh in the World Cup, though, dismissing Kohli for just a single in the semi-final.

So, Virat, what do you think of Johnson now?

Kohli and international colleague Gautam Gambhir hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2013 following an ugly spat during an Indian Premier League game.

Instead of walking off after being dismissed by Lakshmipathy Balaji, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain went straight in the direction of Gambhir and a sharp exchange of views followed.

According to a media release from the IPL, both players were given an official reprimand for “using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during the match.”

That only tells part of the story. So what really made two international team-mates fall out so spectacularly?

Virat Kohli has scored 10 centuries in his first 34 Test appearances and averages 45.73. He's gone toe-to-toe with the Australian pace attack and dominated South Africa's high-class seamers. So what's the problem against England?

In 17 innings against England, Kohli has passed 50 just twice. Is this the same batsman who scored four centuries in four Tests against the Aussies during the winter?

What's the deal with James Anderson? No bowler has dismissed Kohli more often in the five-day game. Late swing? Seaming pitches? Or is it the Lancastrian's uncanny ability to get under the skin of just about every Indian batsman he comes across?

Being the captain of the Test side and India's best batsmen you'd think Kohli had enough on his plate already. Does he also have a secret urge to become a wicketkeeper?

With MS Dhoni absenting himself for an over during India's surprise ODI loss to Bangladesh on Thursday Kohli donned the gloves.

Not bothering to put on any pads, India's one-day vice-captain kept for an over from the pacey Umesh Yadav.

Kohli almost got to celebrate a dismissal behind the stumps as Mashrafe Mortaza played and missed. More importantly, there weren't any mishaps or silly injuries to report.

Is there a wicketkeeper secretly waiting to get out?

Statistics courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo and Howstat.