THE VIRAT VALUE
As Kohli pips star footballer, Lionel Messi on the Forbes list of the world’s ten most valuable sports brands, we find out what makes the India skipper such a big star
Earlier this month, he left sports lovers impressed with his football skills at an exhibition match in Mumbai. Plus, Virat Kohli coowns a soccer team in an Indian league. It could be a coincidence but none of it has anything to do with the fact that the India skipper, Virat Kohli has broken into the global sports icons league as he pips Argentina and Barcelona star footballer, Lionel Messi in the Forbes’ latest list of most valuable brands among sportspersons.
NEW ENTRY
What’s interesting to note is that Virat didn’t feature in the last year’s list, but now, he has replaced India’s star wicketkeeper-batsman, MS Dhoni, in the same list. Dhoni was at the 10th spot last year with a value of $11 million. Virat’s brand value has been calculated at $14.5 million, a million dollars more than the No. 9 Messi ($13.5 million).
But the big question is: what makes Virat such a big brand, especially at such a young age? Veteran ad guru Alyque Padamsee feels the cricketer “has everything going for him to be the brand world’s favourite”. He explains, “Virat is a young, fit, goodlooking man, [who is] aggressive, fearless, extremely popular among women, and, most importantly, is excellent at his game. Plus, his success rate as a captain is exemplary.”
AMONG THE GREATS
The ‘iconic’ list is led by Swiss tennis great, Roger Federer ($37.2 million), followed by American basketball star, LeBron James ($33.4 million), Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt ($27 million), star Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo ($21.5 million) with American golfers Phil Mickelson ($19.6 million) and Tiger Woods ($16.6 million) being at the fifth and sixth spot respectively. Virat is at the seventh spot followed by the Irish golfer Rory McIlroy ($13.6 million) at the eighth spot, while Messi and basketball star Stephen Curry ($13.4 million) complete the top 10 list.
“It [Virat being in the list] shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, Virat is possibly the biggest cricket star in India right now. We are a nation where cricket is a huge sport, and a religion. If not more, it’s surely as popular and enormous as football in Europe,” says film-maker and ad whiz R Balki. Interestingly, experts feel that this “could just be the starting point” of brand Virat’s journey, as he has “just started to peak now”. As per an estimate, over the next year or so, his brand
Virat is a young, fit, goodlooking man, [who is] aggressive, fearless, extremely popular among women, and, most importantly, is excellent at his game.
ALYQUE PADAMSEE, AD GURU
value could grow at the rate of anything between 70 to 100%.