India, Jan. 20 -- Virat Kohli's future has become one of the most talked-about subjects in Indian cricket, though, truth be told, it is also among the most baseless. If his performances in the last six ODIs are anything to go by, Kohli is very much on course to play the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. Anything else would only be a loss for the Indian team.

In a tense chase, India still looks for Virat Kohli the way a ship looks for its lighthouse. Not because the rest can't bat, but because pressure in pursuit is less about shot-making and more about taking the right decisions. And Kohli, even now, remains India's clearest decision-maker with the bat under pressure: the one who can turn panic into a plan, keep the scoreboard moving with ...