Will Kohli strike gold this time around?

Flashback to June 2014, when Virat Kohli came to England with a high reputation in tests on the back of centuries in South Africa and New Zealand in testing conditions, having already proven himself as a match winner in ODIs.

But England certainly has been different from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand where there is swing and bounce. The seam movement in England has caused problems to great batsmen who have succeeded in the other countries. Kohli also suffered the same fate and was found wanting against the moving ball, unsure of where his off stump was. A batsman whose class was compared to former greats suddenly had his technique completely exposed in the English conditions.

After the failure in England, Kohli came back strongly with twin centuries on his captaincy debut against Australia, almost steering India to a famous victory. It was indeed Kohli's second debut after an unforgettable England series where his weakness outside the off stump came to limelight.

It has been four years now and Kohli's test chart has gone in only one direction since then and that is upwards. Probably after Steve Smith, he is the best batsman in the world at the present juncture. He has been India's most dependent player for quite some time now, who scores at least one century in almost every series.

But many great players still have questions about his ability against the seaming ball and have denied calling him a great batsman unless he scores runs in England. It's not just about other's perception, but it will also be in the back Kohli's mind when he comes out to bat. Whether he will be able to conquer England this time and stamp his authority in the world is a million dollar question. Moreover his performance is directly linked to India's success. He is vital cog in the Indian batting line up which is heavily dependent on him.

Kohli will be raring to bat again in England and compensate for the last tour.

Kohli's game has improved by a massive amount since last his last tour of England. His numbers speak volume about this change. He has got the skill sets to succeed in England this time. But still when the ball is full and on the fifth and sixth stump, he tends to go for the drive early on in the innings without much feet movement.

His dismissals in Pune against Mitchell Starc, and in the first test in South Africa earlier this year are a clear indication of this fact. This could bring about his downfall once again. The highly skilled James Anderson and Stuart Broad will be well versed with this and thus Kohli needs to be wary of driving, especially early in his innings.

Kohli loves challenges and this English series can turn out to be the biggest one in his entire test career. If he can manufacture runs this time round, it will mark Kohli as an all time great in tests while he features in every ODI eleven.