India, May 13 -- Early every morning, Pankaj Mahindru, 51, would fetch newspapers from his gate at west Delhi's LIC colony in Jeevan Niketan, Paschim Vihar. It would be just around 6 am, but across from his home, he would often see a budding cricketer get into his WagonR with a cricket kit.

For a year, Mahindru saw the youngster's routine, but only found out who he was when he led India to victory in the U-19 World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur in 2008. The cricketer Mahindru and his neighbourhood became aware of as a big talent was none other than Virat Kohli, who on Monday announced his Test retirement after building a lasting legacy that transcends statistics.

What the numbers and accolades don't show is the journey of a boy from West De...