Virat Kohli is only second to Shah Rukh Khan in terms of brand value

What’s the story?

Virat Kohli’s on-field heroics are helping him smash lucrative deals off the field too. The Indian captain’s brand value, as per an October 2016 report on celebrity brands by Duff and Phelps, is a whopping $92 million.

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“The track record of a sports player has a direct bearing on his attractiveness as a brand endorser. Given the consistent and unbeatable record of Virat Kohli, companies that want to position themselves as a market winner will definitely look to sign him on as a brand ambassador,” said Aviral Jain, director at Duff & Phelps - a global brand and corporate finance advisory firms.

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Ever since the 28-year-old took over the leadership of Indian cricket in all three formats from MS Dhoni, his brand value seems to have skyrocketed. With him scoring big knocks consistently in the past few months, the value might have gone even higher, especially after his four double centuries in four consecutive series.

Virat endorses many high-end brands and is also the brand ambassador of the Skill India mission. He also owns a chain of gyms called Chisel and a fashion label called Wrogn. He is also working with a tech startup called Sports Convo.

The heart of the matter

Tuhin Mishra, the co-founder and managing director of Baseline Ventures, a sports marketing, entertainment and licensing firm said that performance on the field improves the perceived value of a brand ambassador.

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He also said that after Virat Kohli became the captain of ODI and T20 teams, his value easily went up by 20-25% as is the norm.

What’s next?

Kohli will now lead India against Australia in the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy which is all set to begin in Pune from 23^rd February. The series will be crucial for the 28-year-old in terms of his personal achievements. With only a few big scores, he can go past the records of Steve Smith and Sachin Tendulkar in ICC rankings.

Sportskeeda’s Take

Virat Kohli’s journey to success was not an overnight story. As his coach revealed recently, Kohli worked very hard towards his fitness to become the world-class player that he has become now. And after so many records to his name in less than 10 years of his career, his incredible brand value seems justified.