Virat Kohli, the new poster boy of Indian cricket

Sachin Tendulkar was the first major Indian cricketer to have earned a whopping Rs.25 crore in the mid-90s for a period of 3 years, endorsing products such as Boost and Pepsi, with the late Mark Mascerenhas’ World Sport Group being his agent. His peak came at a time when consumerism was on the surge in the Indian market. His future was secured financially and paved the way for more players to sign endorsements as an extra source of income, even as the BCCI’s cash inflows were increasing per annum.

MS Dhoni followed, with his long locks and hard hitting making him a cult hero amongst the masses. And captaining India with immense success courtesy his unique abilities and increasing maturity was just the trigger in making him even richer than Tendulkar, despite having played only 8 years of international cricket!

But records are meant to be broken. The latest trendsetter of Indian cricket is younger, dashing, overtly aggressive yet offers quality in his game. He reminds many of either Sourav Ganguly or Ricky Ponting but is the one who has already surged ahead of Tendulkar and Dhoni when it comes to his presence on the television screen. It is none other than Virat Kohli.

What is making Kohli tick at present is his form which never seems to dip. He is India’s Mr. Reliable in limited overs cricket. Plus, of course his looks can make males want to copy him while the opposite sex goes gaga. He symbolizes Indian culture which is becoming more western and urbanized in attitude, perhaps greater than any other celebrity at the moment.

He did have a contractual dispute with Nike, but he won it which has enhanced his image further. Adidas perhaps recognized that it would not be long before Tendulkar calls it quits completely, looking at his form and age. So they were quick to seize this opportunity and recently signed a 10 year contract with him, paying him more than the Little Master!

Kohli’s brand value has sharply risen to Rs.10 crore which is almost the same as Dhoni, plus he endorses more brands such as MRF, Toyota, Pepsi, Cinthol, Nestle and TVS. As companies attempt to woo the youth, this does not help Dhoni whose looks seem to be waning and perhaps Kohli would soon succeed him as captain.
Besides, Dhoni seems to be losing more endorsements each year since his demands seem to be too much for companies looking to cut costs in this recessionary period. Kohli is not a one season player for sure, and thus he is likely to mint more money than his colleagues and scoring more runs simultaneously for a long period of time.