As Virat Kohli enjoys a purple patch on the batting pitch, there’s more good news for him: a leading sports magazine has called him the third most marketable sportsperson in the world.
The ace cricketer has left behind international sporting icons like Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi to become the third most marketable sportsperson in the world, according to SportsPro.
According to the magazine’s seventh annual list of the world’s most marketable athletes, Virat has been ranked third after NBA sensation Stephen Curry and Juventus’s Paul Pogba.
Virat’s ranking on the list has steadily gone up. He was ranked 13th in 2013, 2nd in 2014, 6th in 2015 according to the magazine.
Athletes from across the world have been ranked according to their marketing potential from this summer on the basis of value for money, age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed and crossover appeal, read the magazine website.
The only other Indian on the list is Sania Mirza, who is ranked 49th.
Among the notable absentees in the list are MS Dhoni, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods.
Brazilian star Neymar is ranked (8th) ahead of Barcelona teammate Messi (27th) while CR7 is ranked further lower at 35th.
Tennis World No 1 Djokovic was ranked 23rd while charismatic racer Lewis Hamilton grabbed the 24th spot.