Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli, for the third consecutive year, has become the most valued Indian celebrity in the country. The skipper’s brand value soared a massive rise of 39% in 2019 to $237.5 million. Virat beat his rival, Bollywood superstar, Akshay Kumar, by a huge margin. The report was conducted by global advisory firm, Duff and Phelps titled Celebrity Brand Valuation Study 2019: “New is Gold.”
Meanwhile, Akshay stood second in the list when it comes to brand endorsements with brand value of $104.5 million, at a growth of 55.3 per cent. Celebrated Bollywood couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika, claimed the third spot with a brand value of $93.5 million each. Deepika retained her most valuable female celebrity status for the second consecutive year whereas Ranveer moved up a spot, to now occupy the same position as that of his wife.
The other sportspersons in the list are all cricketers with M.S. Dhoni claiming the 9th position with a value of $41.2 million, Sachin Tendulkar taking the 15th spot and Rohit Sharma in the 20th place. Kohli is currently leading Team India in New Zealand in the three-match ODI series. India had won the five-match T20I series 5-0 and would now be looking to stage a comeback in the ODI series after they lost the first match on Wednesday.
