What makes Brand Virat Kohli tick?

It seems age cannot wither nor custom stale Virat Kohli’s infinite brand value. 

According to the list of top 25 celebrity brands for 2024, released by financial and risk advisory firm Kroll, the celebrity cricketer has once again secured the top spot with a staggering brand value of $231.1 million, well ahead of actor Ranveer Singh’s $170.7 million. 

Kohli has occupied the #1 position in India in Kroll’s annual brand value list from 2018 to 2024, except for a temporary blip in 2022 when he slipped to rank 2. In 2023, his brand value rose to $227.9 million. This consistency underscores his enduring brand strength and wide-reaching influence. 

In fact, Kohli’s global popularity is said to have played a key role in pitching cricket at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. 

“Virat is the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media … more than LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28,” Niccolo Campriani, Sports Director of Los Angeles 2028 Organising Committee, had said at the International Olympic Committee session in 2023, as he made a case for cricket’s inclusion at the Games. 

Of course, we may not see Kohli in action at LA (although he quipped about coming back for one game, just to grab the gold medal), but that doesn’t take away the fact that he is a big draw wherever he goes. 

So, what makes Brand Virat Kohli tick?

Harish Bijoor, business and brand-strategy expert, puts it simply: a brand is a thought, and Kohli is a thought that will continue to linger and last. 

His numbers on the field in the last few years may not match up to what they were during his peak before 2020. But that hasn’t diminished his popularity or fan following. He is the most-followed Indian celebrity on Instagram, and also the most-followed cricketer worldwide, with over 273 million followers. 

“On-field performance is important for a rookie star or a startup cricketer, not for someone like Kohli who has invested years into the game. He has shown consistent performance and stirred cricketing chemistry to new highs among a whole new generation of cricket viewers,” says Bijoor, Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.

His career graph with all its ups and downs shows that nobody is infallible, and that successes and failures are part of everyone’s growth trajectory. 

“He is willing to accept his failures, work on them, and not give up. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is not looking to please the outside world. All these make him authentic and relatable to people,” says Raghu Viswanath, a branding expert and Founder, Vertebrand Management Consulting. 

Kohli isn’t just a cricketing legend, he’s also a smart entrepreneur—from co-owning popular fashion labels such as WROGN to investing in fast-growing startups such as Blue Tribe, Rage Coffee, and Slurrp Farm. He also endorses over 30 brands, including MRF Tyres, Audi, Boost, Tissot, and Myntra. 

This dual positioning as a sporting legend and a business powerhouse is what sustains his #1 brand value, says Umakanta Panigrahi, Managing Director, Valuation Services, Kroll. 

Every year, Kroll estimates ‘celebrity brand value’ based on considerations such as average annual endorsement revenue, breadth of endorsement portfolio, social media influence, and overall popularity. 

What makes a brand valuable in the long term

Kroll’s 2024 list also features retired cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni, highlighting the fact that true sporting legends enjoy fandom beyond their playing days.

“With retired celebrities, the follower base is more established and diverse, and the risk of their image getting tarnished through unpredictable injuries or on-field gaffes is non-existent,” explains Panigrahi. 

The rising popularity of celebrities like Kohli reiterates that a valuable brand in India is one built on authenticity, mass appeal, a strong cross-platform presence and persona, aspirational storytelling, and ubiquity in people’s minds. 

“In today’s world, successful celebrity brands integrate a dynamic digital presence, entrepreneurial initiatives, and consistent engagement with fans to maintain relevance and influence,” says Panigrahi. 

On the field, Kohli was a colourful character, known for his fun banter and gestures to the crowd, egging them to cheer for the team. It would be interesting to see how he continues to engage with fans now that he’s retired from both international Test and T20 cricket.

For Viswanath, Kohli encapsulates the values of consistency, longevity and discipline—key tenets that define a valuable brand. “He is not a momentary poster boy; he stands for stability over a long period of time.”

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Beyond cricket 

It comes as no surprise that cricketers and Bollywood actors predominantly occupy Kroll’s celebrity brands ranking. 

In India, cricket is not just a sport; it’s a 24x7 cultural phenomenon with unmatched viewership and emotional connect. Therefore, cricketers command mass loyalty across generations, making them highly attractive to brands.

That said, other athletes are also steadily gaining ground. For example, Olympic champions Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu are expanding their endorsement portfolios (with about 18 and 13 brands respectively, according to Kroll estimates), reflecting a gradual broadening of India’s sports marketing landscape. 

Whatever field one belongs to, for celebrities to create more value in today’s age, they need to be much more than what they represent. 

“The more embracive you are about the larger environment, the better it is (for your persona),” says Bijoor. However, he adds that those who avoid ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ tend to do better than those who don’t.