IS VIRAT KOHLI A BRAND ON PAR WITH SACHIN TENDULKAR AND MS DHONI?
Brand managers feel that since Virat Kohli still has “age on his side”, there will be an “abundance of opportunities and space” for him to improve his brand value among global sports stars. As per experts, if India skipper’s performance [as a captain and a batsman] remains intact and he “continues to make rapid strides, his brand value can only go up.”
OVERTAKING LEGENDS
But talking of brand value, can Virat be put in the same league as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni? Ad whiz Alyque Padamsee disagrees. “If Virat continues at the same pace, he will eventually – and surely – overtake Dhoni and even Sachin. But right now, it’s too early to put him in the same league. So, let’s wait and watch,” he says.
Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar concurs. “Brand Sachin was very unique in his heydays, and even Dhoni has been huge. So, it’s very difficult to compare. But Virat is on his way to become one of the alltime greats. Maybe, brands can lap him up now before he becomes unaffordable (laughs),” he says.
BEING PROUD
Film-maker and adman R Balki also feels that “it’s a very difficult call to take.” “Sachin used to be a humongous icon while he was playing and even Dhoni is a big brand. But it goes without saying that Virat is one of the biggest sports stars India has ever seen,” he says.
At the same time, Kakkar feels “no one should be surprised” about Virat being in the Forbes list. “To put things in perspective, we are a cricket crazy nation that has a population of over one billion, so by that logic, imagine how big a brand Virat should and can be? In that case, he can easily beat a Messi any day. We should be proud that he is such a big brand,” he says.