Kolkata: It’s the advent of a new era. MS Dhoni has to make way for Virat Kohli! And when Kohli’s fans were really upset that their icon’s name did not feature in the ICC’s Test team of the year, they now have something to cheer!
Kohli has made his way to the third spot in the Forbes India magazine’s list of 100 Indian celebrities, just below Bollywood megastars Salman Khan Shah Rukh Khan and who are ranked 1 and 2 respectively. With an estimated earning of Rs 134.44 crore in 2016, Kohli jumped to the No.3 spot overall in the list, from No.7 last year.
Forbes has two essential criteria while short listing the names on the list: Estimates of entertainment-related earnings and estimates of fame. The time period for consideration of the above mentioned factors was from October 1, 2015 to September 20, 2016.
Only three sportspersons, all of them cricketers, featured in the Top 10 with Dhoni standing out bright at 5th in the list with an estimated earning of Rs 122.48 crore. Though, he retired from Test cricket in December 2014, his fame quotient strategically reached the zenith this year because of a biopic on him, MS Dhoni- The Untold Story, that crossed the RS 100 crore mark.
The God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, who hung up his boots in 2013 got the No.8 spot overall on the fifth Forbes India Celebrity List. Coming back to Kohli it’s been a year full of honours. He is the highest run-scorer across the three formats in international cricket, a fact that helped him bag the third spot.
Besides, his link-up with Bollywood actress, Anushka Sharma also kept him in the news. Kohli also being hyped in the country by the youth, strengthened the reasons behind him being in the coveted list.
Off the field, brand Kohli escalated big time which enabled him find a higher place in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 List. Over to Kohli! He is truly the new superstar of Indian cricket now!
(With inputs from Agencies)