Most valuable celebrity list: Virat Kohli tops the chart, MS Dhoni makes it to fifth place

Former Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has held on to the top spot in the ‘most valuable celebrity’ list, as per a report by Duff & Phelps, A Kroll Business. On Tuesday, the seventh edition of its Celebrity Brand Valuation Study 2021 titled, “Digital Acceleration 2.0,” was released. Despite stepping down from the captaincy role and being in the middle of a lot of ensuing saga, Kohli continued to top the chart. With a brand value of USD 185.7 million (around Rs 1,400 crore), Virat retained the top position for the fifth successive year. It is to be noted that his brand value has plunged significantly from last year. In the previous year (2020), Kohli’s brand value was at USD 237.7 million. 

It will be interesting to see if Virat Kohli can continue to retain the top spot in the upcoming years, considering that he is no longer the captain of the Indian cricket team in any form. Be it in T20Is, ODIs and Tests, Kohli no longer holds the coveted spot. Not to mention that he has also stepped down from the captaincy of Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). If Kohli manages to maintain his top form with the bat in the coming months, he might still be able to hold on to the top position in this list.

READ MORE – Who is Virat Kohli’s wife? Know everything about Anushka Sharma

Rohit Sharma takes 13th spot

Other cricketers also found a place on the list. Current Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is placed at number 13 and has a brand value of USD 32.2 million. Rohit had taken over the reins of captaincy from Kohli. Having already been named the ODI and T20I captain, Sharma was also announced as Test captain in February this year. With the T20 World Cup set to happen later this year, it will be interesting to see how Rohit handles the pressure of captaining the Indian side in the tournament.

It is to be noted that Rohit Sharma has been the captain of the Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians. He has led them to five IPL titles. Rohit, who holds the world record for the highest individual score of 264 runs in an ODI match, is now the skipper for India in all formats and also leads his IPL side. The time has come for Rohit Sharma to take over as India’s most popular cricketer from Virat Kohli. If he handles the added responsibility well, then the opening batsman could very well move higher up in the ‘most valuable celebrity’ list in coming years.

READ MORE – Who is Rohit Sharma’s wife? Know everything about Ritika Sajdeh

MS Dhoni moves to 5th, Sachin Tendulkar at 11th

Meanwhile, retired Indian wicket-keeper batsman and former skipper MS Dhoni has been placed fifth in 2021. There is an increase of 69 per cent in his brand value to USD 61.2 million. In 2020, Dhoni had a brand value of USD 36.3 million and was ranked 11th. The former Chennai Super Kings skipper is one of the significant movers on the list. Given that Dhoni has retired from all forms of international cricket and only plays in the IPL with CSK, this is a huge leap for the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning captain. This shows how popular Dhonis is among the supporters that he continues to maintain his high brand value.

Meanwhile, former batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has been ranked 11th with a brand value of USD 47.4 million. Arguably the greatest cricketer of all time, Tendulkar made spectators fall in love with the game after witnessing his flamboyant batting style. He ruled the cricketing world for many years, scoring a staggering 18,426 runs in the one-day format and has accumulated a total of 15,921 runs in Test cricket.

Known to put anxiety in every bowler’s mind, Tendulkar has made batting look extremely easy. He fulfilled his life-long dream of winning a World Cup when he was part of the team that lifted the 2011 trophy on home soil. He will forever hold a dear place in the hearts of the supporters for all the joy he has provided them during his playing days. Hence, it is not a surprise to see Sachin Tendulkar still holding a high brand value despite retiring from the sport years ago.

PV Sindhu makes it to the Top 20

Among other sports, Indian shuttling queen, PV Sindhu has made her way into the top 20 list. Fresh from winning the Swiss Open title, Sindhu has been placed at 20th with a brand value of USD 22 million. The Hyderabadi shuttler had defeated Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-16, 21-8 in the final to clinch the Swiss Open crown at St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel. It was Sindhu’s second women’s singles title of the season.

READ MORE – Swiss Open 2022: PV Sindhu beats Ongbamrungphan to clinch the title

From Basel with ❤️#SwissOpen2022 ??✅

Thank you everyone for your immense support and wishes! ?means a lot ?? pic.twitter.com/Q4HbqL59zQ

— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) March 27, 2022

Five of the top 20 celebrities are from the sports world, while the rest are from Bollywood and other entertainment industries. In Bollywood, renowned star Ranveer Singh has become the second most valuable celebrity in the country with USD 158.3 million worth. Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar is ranked third with a brand value of USD 139.6 million. Gangubai Kathiawadi actor, Alia Bhatt, topped the female celebrity list and has a brand value of USD 68.1 million. 

Who said what?

“While prominent Bollywood celebrities continue to feature on our list of top 20 celebrity brands, this year we saw some notable changes,” Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps A Kroll Business, was quoted as saying by PTI. “Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, and MS Dhoni witnessed a stellar jump in their brand values, and they seem to have hit the right chords with the audience in 2021. We also saw more sportspersons rising in the top celebrity rankings, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and P V Sindhu.”

Meanwhile, Varun Gupta, Head of Asia Pacific, Valuation Advisory Services, said, “Businesses and brands have heavily leveraged social media and other online platforms for brand endorsements this year, too, with below-par weightage to traditional platforms. 2021 also saw the emergence and growth of several startups in the fintech and direct-to-consumer (D2C) business segments that significantly contributed to the overall number of brand endorsements undertaken by the top 20 celebrities.”

“As traditional, as well as upcoming industries, adopted the digital route to continue engaging with their consumers, we observed greater traction in fintech, social media and OTT platforms, and D2C platforms from a celebrity endorsement standpoint.”

Below is the list of Top 20 celebrity rankings: