“His brand is reaching a maturity phase in terms of a cricketer” - Expert reacts to Virat Kohli’s latest brand value
Team India star batter Virat Kohli is no longer the country’s most valuable celebrity. The 34-year-old lost the top ranking with regard to celebrity brand value after dominating the charts for five consecutive years until 2021.
Kohli suffered a slump in batting form after 2019. He did not score an international century for over 1000 days, a drought which ended after he reached three figures in a T20I against Afghanistan during the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE.
Subsequently, the former India captain has rediscovered form in ODIs and Tests as well, but the extended lean patch seems to have taken a toll on his brand value.
According to Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2022, Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh is now India’s most valuable celebrity. The report stated that Singh now occupies the No. 1 spot, with his brand value increasing to $181.7 million in 2022 from $158.3 million in 2021. As for Kohli, his brand value was $176.9 million in 2022, down from $185.7 million in 2021.
Speaking about the fall in Kohli’s brand value, Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll, told Moneycontrol:
"Virat Kohli has seen a 5 percent decline in brand value from 2021. His performance on the field has been erratic and he has been in and out of India team which is a risk associated with his brand. Also, the fees which he used to command has softened a bit in 2022. While he has been able to continue to grow his brand portfolio, there is drop in brand value.”
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Jain, however, added that the batter’s brand is reaching a maturity phase, pointing out that Kohli has started to position himself as a non-cricketer. He elaborated:
"While his brand is reaching a maturity phase in terms of a cricketer, in some of his endorsements he is positioning himself as a non-cricketer and some of his brands are with (wife) Anushka (Sharma). Plus, together they are doing many investments like in BlueTribe basically highlighting more non-cricket aspects.
"In the coming years, he (Kohli) will come back stronger as his non-cricketing positioning would have strengthened quite a bit which has been the case for MS Dhoni."
Kohli is currently part of the Indian team which is taking on Australia at home in a three-match one-day series. The third and final ODI will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, March 22.
Kohli was leading run-scorer for India in Tests against Australia
34-year-old Kohli was Team India’s leading run-getter in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia. The right-handed batter scored 297 runs in six innings at an average of 49.50.
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The former India captain registered his first Test ton since November 2019, compiling a patient 186 off 364 balls in the final Test of the series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.