Virat Kohli’s thumb injury sustained in a net session sent India into a tizzy as apprehension soon made fans fearful of the worst-case scenario.

Will Kohli take the field for India’s World Cup opener against the Proteas in Southampton on June 5?

1.4 million articles will greet you if you google “Virat Kohli injury”.

Such is the impact of India’s premier batsman and leader of the pack that even an opening game against a considerably weak South Africa smarting from two successive defeats looks an improbable proposition without Kohli.

And why shouldn’t it be?

More than three and a half decades after rank outsiders India won their first World Cup at Lord’s, Kohli’s team are back where it all started for Indian cricket as joint favourites with the hosts.

Having starred in two highly successful World Cup campaigns, the U-19 in 2008 (as the skipper) and the senior edition in 2011 (as the youngest in the winning squad), Kohli would look to add this one to his already glittering trophy cabinet.

Any talk of big tournament pressure doesn’t sit well with Kohli. He thrives in it.

The master of many a famous run chase, Kohli revels in the pressure, and the numbers clearly point to it.

With 41 of his 90 half-centuries converted into hundreds, he has the best conversion rate in ODIs.

Add to this his average of 95 with 21 tons in 84 successful chases, and you know King Kohli is simply unbeatable. No team can even dream of victory till they send him back to the pavilion. And in the prime of his career, Kohli looks all set to take the 2019 World Cup by storm, and even win it on his own.

But can he do it alone is the big question.

Ask Sachin Tendulkar and you will get the answer as to why it’s nearly more than just a superhuman task to win cricket’s biggest prize on your own.

From 1996 to 2003, India hoped and believed Tendulkar would win the World Cup with his sheer batting prowess.

Many glorious knocks Tendulkar went on to play, and many runs he added to his cumulative score, but he was stopped short of the coveted title as he didn’t get the support one needed to win the Cup.

And it is here that the Kohli-faithful must take note. India’s batting machine and it’s phenomenal success has largely centred around the top 3, with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, along with Kohli scoring the bulk of runs through an extended period.

And it’s not just the amount they have scored, but the manner in which they have decimated the best white-ball attacks that got Team India to where it is.

While Kohli has been the best as far as chases are concerned, it is Dhawan, and more particularly Sharma who are known for their penchant for setting giant targets.

The top six-hitter while batting first since the 2015 World Cup, a lot is expected from Sharma.

Dhawan offers his cracking blade to short-pitched stuff.

It is the openers who must set the impetus if India are to start well.

The No.4 conundrum continues, till whoever gets to be sent out to bat at No.4 at Southampton against South Africa.

Considered as a back-up opener, K.L. Rahul seems to have made the right noises with his fine form in the warm-ups, but whether he has the temperament to shoulder such a big responsibility at the biggest stage remains to be seen.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains India’s greatest ever finisher (averages nearly 105 in chases won) but is he capable of one final hurrah?

Whether the famed Mr. Cool can coolly polish off big chases when the team loses early wickets is now a matter of national debate.

With an extra fielder outside the 30-yard circle, the focus will be on whether Dhoni’s magical ability to rotate the strike at will and clear the ropes consistently is still intact.

Sending him out to bat at No.5 could perhaps be the best way of assessing that, and also giving him the much needed time in the middle to find his range.

All of which yet again points to the importance of the No.4 slot, pitched in after Kohli, and before MSD, if he is preferred at No.5.

For once though, India does have a well-rounded bowling attack, led by the best in the business: Jasprit Bumrah.

The best in the business while bowling at the death, Bumrah’s unwavering accuracy and his supreme ability to bowl the perfect Yorker at any point in the innings sets him apart from the rest.

Add to it his unbelievable knack of bowling dot balls, and he could be Kohli’s trump card in this tournament.

While the ball hasn’t swung as yet in England, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s uncanny knack of getting it to move either way could prove to be the perfect foil for Bumrah.

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have spun a web around the best batters for a while now, but have come off lacklustre performances in the IPL, and their first defeat in a bilateral series by Australia recently.

Concerns about Kuldeep’s slowness in the air have arisen while many are already predicting Chahal has been found out by most batsmen.

It’s the middle overs that will make or break a team, and Kohli needs his spin twins to be on the coin if India are to make a match out of it.

But for all the concerns, Kohli has in Hardik Pandya what could surely be the game-changer. With an array of strokes as dazzling as his ever-changing hair colour, and the ability to prise out batsmen bowling a sharp bouncer, Pandya could indeed emerge as the biggest ace up Kohli’s sleeve.

Over to Southampton now.

Virat Kohli carries a glass of ice water to relieve pain in his right thumb after hurting it during a training session. AP

Sanjeeb Mukherjea is a sports television personality. An award-winning journalist, Mukherjea is also the lead anchor and commentator for the 2019 World Cup for Star Sports 1 Bangla