The ambition may sound ludicrous, but when Jos Buttler says he wants to breathe the same rarefied air as Virat Kohli, his eyes tell you he isn't kidding.
A few weeks after a destructive 150 off 77 balls against West Indies in Grenada, Buttler is busy preparing for the year of his life - the IPL, the World Cup, the Ashes. It will be a year in which, given a fair wind, he can achieve greatness. His role model makes perfect sense.
'I know I can go to another level,' he said. 'Why couldn't you just stay at peak level? Someone like Kohli scores a hundred every game, he doesn't settle for: "Ah, that was ok, I'll peak at some point." Just do it every day. That's the sort of mindset I've been wanting to hit.'
Jos Buttler is busy preparing for the year of his life - the IPL, the World Cup and the Ashes
If Buttler really can emulate India's captain, England will be in prime position to lift their first 50-over World Cup. But it is no ordinary aspiration: Kohli averages nearly 60 in one-day internationals, and has scored 18 hundreds since the start of 2016 alone. He is a once-in-a-lifetime talent.
Then again, so is Buttler, whose ramps, scoops, pulls and straight sixes off low full-tosses stand out even in a team as box-office as England. The Grenada innings was, he believes, the best he has produced. And, as Eoin Morgan's vice-captain, he is well placed to deliver a message that may need repeating at crunch moments once the tournament starts on May 30.
'Even in knockout games, it won't be a side that plays cautiously that wins the World Cup,' he said. 'It will be a side that plays some brave cricket and smart cricket, making good decisions under pressure.
