Top 5 players who have more fans in India than their respective countries

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli share a great bond
IPL has contributed to the increase in individual fan base.

In India, Cricket is followed like a religion. Cricketers are avidly cherished and loved in India. This love of fans is not restricted to just Indian cricketers. There have been many foreign cricketers who are adored by the Indian crowd.

Even the Indian cricketers are loved by crowds all over the world. Sunil Gavaskar, for example, was as popular in West Indies as he was in India.

With the introduction of IPL, foreign cricketers' popularity in India has increased tremendously. Some cricketers have a bigger fan base in India than their home countries.

Let us have a look at the top 5 foreign cricketers who are darlings of Indian fans.

#5 Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard
The heavy-hitting Caribbean!

West Indies cricket is all about flair and flamboyance. The emergence of t20 leagues across the world has made the Caribbean players ever so popular. Kieron Pollard is one such player who carved his name on world cricket through these leagues.

Pollard came into limelight playing for Trinidad and Tobago in the Champions league t20, 2009. Subsequently, he was picked by Mumbai Indians for the third season of IPL.

The burly all-rounder has since played every edition of IPL for Mumbai. He has huge fan base in Mumbai and thus, MI franchise has retained him for the IPL 2018 as well.

#4 Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum has a huge fan base in Chennai

It was the opening match of the inaugural IPL. People were skeptical about t20 cricket till then. There was lot at stake and inaugural IPL had to be a success. The world saw one of the greatest t20 innings of all time from the bat of McCullum. The wicket-keeper batsman hit 13 sixes and scored 158 not out of just 73 balls.

He then played for Kochi Tuskers before being bought by the CSK. It was the Super Kings where McCullum and Dwayne Smith started opening together and wreaked havoc on oppositions.

McCullum has a huge fan base in India. He is among the most loved cricketers in India. He even wrote a letter, requesting the Indian fans to support NZ in world cup final. The relationship between Indians and McCullum looks very strong.

#3 Dwayne Bravo

DJ Bravo is a pure entertainer
DJ Bravo is a pure entertainer

There is one thing about WI cricketers, they are never short of entertainment. Dwayne Bravo is one such player who always attracts crowds, be it in any part of the world.

The WI all-rounder was picked by MI in the inaugural season of IPL. Although he played for MI for three seasons, it was the move to CSK in the fourth edition that worked for him. He has, since, been an integral part of CSK setup.

Bravo was recently quoted saying, "Most of my fan following is from India and mostly from Chennai. I can feel love and appreciation from the fans."

#2 Chris Gayle

The Universe Boss
The Universal Boss

He is one of the most famous cricketers in the cricketing world. Chris Gayle has found a huge fan following in India. However, unlike his fellow country men, the Jamaican wasn't an overnight success in IPL.

It was the fourth season of IPL where he was called by RCB as a replacement. RCB had an average season till that time. However, he orchestrated a complete turn around, taking his team to the finals, scoring 2 hundreds in the process.

He has a humongous fan base in Bangalore. Gayle, along with Kohli and de Villiers, formed the backbone of RCB over the years. The explosive batsman never leaves a chance to entertain his fans. He is often seen dancing on Bollywood songs in IPL parties.

He has been picked by KXIP for the 2018 season of IPL.

#1 AB de Villiers

Mr. 360
Mr. 360

Mr. 360 is a special talent. He can do anything on the cricket field. The Superman is among the most loved cricketers of the world.

He has fans all across India. He is the integral part of RCB. Gayle, de Villiers and Kohli share great camaraderie off the field.

He had special mention of India in his autobiography and even shared an incident of a match in Mumbai.

"It was probably the most humbling experience of my life walking out there in the final ODI against India in Mumbai (in 2015). I walked out there to bat and the entire crowd was cheering 'AB! AB!' and chanting so loud that I could not even hear myself talk. It was happening in the whole series, but then it hit me really hard that I was very far away from home and here the people were supporting me like I was their own, yet I was playing against their own," he was quoted saying.

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Edited by Abhisek Bajaj