We live in a country where cricket and its stars get more coverage than an average matter of national importance. In some cases, cricketers are even more loved and revered than some personalities from India's glamorous B-town. Cricketers are, of course, more globally renowned.
The family of serious cricket playing nations is a small one. India ranks among the chief countries where cricket is the major and most popular sport as per the culture of the country. As such it is not surprising that more Indians figure in lists of most popular cricketers around the world.
Here are the top ten most well-liked cricketers on the social media platform, Facebook.
10) Shikhar Dhawan – 6.96 million
The Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman practically lives his life on Facebook, highlighting amusing little anecdotes that he goes through in his daily life. His fan-following, to put it modestly, is huge. The Delhi-born 30-year-old recently posted a picture of himself in an autorickshaw on the streets of Bangalore with the caption “Fly like a Ferrari”.
Such quirks as well as the fact that he is widely regarded as a complete powerhouse when it comes to batting ensure that this cricketer is well loved on Facebook. His official page boasts of more than 6.96 million likes.
9) Chris Gayle – 7.14 million
They say no one knows how to party like the Carribean. The Windies team have been known for their brawny, good-natured celebrations both on and off the pitch. Furthermore, cricket matches in West Indies are a party in the stadium with fans celebrating whether or not their team wins. Chris Gayle is the face of this brand of cricket.
This IPL star has a huge fan base, most of whom are Indians. His Facebook handle reads “Chris Gayle Spartan”. Additionally, he always finds ways to remain in the news for good or for insensitive reasons, while he also harbours a certain kind of panache which makes him a part of this list.
His official Facebook page registers 7.14 million likes and an endearing number of supporters in various other fan-made pages.
8) Mushfiqur Rahim – 7.50 million
His is a typical story of how a boy with no influence over the cricketing world made a place for himself in it – powered by nothing more that grit, determination and sheer talent. The vice-captain of the Bangladesh Cricket team has a Facebook page that highlights his day to day life and a personal touch to most of his posts makes them quite relatable to his fans.
Bangladesh, like India, has huge respect for cricket in its country and Rahim is one of the most popular players of the sport; second only to Shakib Al Hasan. His amazing story to fame ensures him more popularity and respect than some of the greatest names in cricket.
His Facebook page is more liked and promoted than those of Ab de Villiers and Kevin Pieterson. His posts are mostly accompanied by social messages that make him a responsible moral ambassador. With 7.5 million likes on his official page, Mushfiqur's claim to fame is quite solid.
7) Shakib Al Hasan – 8.72 million
The captain of the Bangladesh Cricket Team has a huge amount of support throughout the world. Very recently, Bangladesh has emerged as a cricketing force to be reckoned with. Even before that, Shakib emerged as a dangerous talent. His stint in the IPL has earned him huge favours with the Indian crowd as well as any international audience interested in rising stars in cricket.
Shakib Al Hasan is quite active both on Facebook and Twitter, often posting pictures of night outs with his wife. He provides people with a glimpse of his life without offering many opinions about anything and that works with the crowd.
With 8.72 million likes on his official Facebook, Shakib stands 7th among the most popular cricketers on social media.
6) Rohit Sharma – 9.88 million
Rohit Sharma is no less than a hero in the eyes of his adoring fans. He has made India proud with his prowess in the game on more than one occasion and fans, it seems, are grateful to him. In their eyes, their hero can do no wrong.
Rohit has a knack of keeping his Facebook fans in suspense whenever he has something monumental to announce. Frequent live reactions with his supporters via Facebook ensures his image as a people's man gets the maximum amount of attention.
He talks about himself a lot, about his hobbies, likes and dislikes and this glimpse into a hero's personal life satiates eager speculators and supporters. The tone of his interactions perfectly justify the 9.88 million likes on his Facebook page.
5) Yuvraj Singh – 12.18 million
After Yuvi battled cancer to return to his beloved sport, he became something of an inspiration to a lot of people; even people who may not be remotely interested in cricket. His Twitter handle reads @yuvistrong and strong he is.
A prolific batsman, it is doubtful any Indian can forget about the time he hit 6 sixes off 6 balls in the 2007 World T20. When such a beloved icon goes through something traumatic, it is inevitable that support starts pouring in from fans and well-wishers alike.
Yuvraj is motivational, iconic and influential as is a brand unto himself. These factors ensure him a comfortable popularity on Facebook. Add to this his constant liaisons and associations with women from the entertainment industry appeal widely to people in general.
Yuvraj Singh is at #5 with 12.18 million likes on his official page.
4) Virender Sehwag – 12.43 million
Viru, as he is popularly known, is still a benchmark for aspiring cricketers. He is one of the few cricketers who progressed and reached great heights based mostly on talent and relied very little on training. His cricketing style has been unconventional, to say the least, and this serves as a great form of encouragement to young masses interested in taking up the game.
Viru has been one of the best openers in the history of Indian and International Cricket. He is a player of much worth and is humble and quite modest about his greatness. His Facebook page is managed alternately by his PR team in addition to himself.
The page is active and quite well maintained and caters to the excitement Indian cricket fans still have regarding their favourite opener.
The page boasts of 12.43 million likes.
3) MS Dhoni – 18.61 million
“Captain cool” of the Indian Cricket Team has shown time and again how to deal with difficult and sticky situations by keeping perfectly calm. He is India's most successful captain and can quite easily be considered a national treasure for the accolades he has invariably helped the country receive.
Dhoni is now a husband and a father and frequently portrays himself as a dedicated family man. Not just in cricket, he is a massive face in entertainment and style statements. The man from Ranchi can boast of a biopic being made on his life and his rise as one of the big hitters of the Indian team.
As captain, he has made quite a few decisions that have earned him the respect of Indians and foreigners alike. He has given away his Man of the Match prizes on more than one occasion to teammates who, he felt, deserved it more than him. Such actions show the kind of man that he is. It also leads to a staggering 18.61 million likes on his Facebook page.
2) Sachin Tendulkar – 27.19 million
This might come as a shock that the “God of cricket” is not the most popular personality on Facebook. Nevertheless, with 27.19 million likes on Facebook and a great number of unofficial pages, to people having heated arguments over him being the best cricketer of all time, it is safe to assume that Sachin soars high when it comes to online popularity.
In addition to being a fantastic human being and, arguably, the best batsman of all time, Sachin is a humanitarian. Most of his posts end with a nationalist message. When he travels overseas he makes it a point to mention that he infinitely prefers his own country more. Sachin leads a relatively private life and Facebook is one of the best sources to advertise the little of his life he chooses to make known.
1) Virat Kohli – 30.22 million
Aggressiveness, talent and a knack to handle the volatile media, Virat Kohli seems to be the complete package. He is in particularly good form at present and it seems that all he can do after this is get better at what he does.
Apart from his conquests onfield, Kohli has been in the news for a wide variety of reasons; from dating a top Bollywood actress to speaking out in favour of feminism. his charitable gestures when it comes to visiting old-age homes and orphanages are commendable and earn him a lot of respect.
A young batsman, Kohli is well aware of social responsibilities as the current face of Indian cricket and he uses his status wisely. He is the most popular cricketer on Facebook with moe than 30.22 million likes on his page.
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