Mumbai: So many landmarks remained unconquered, so many peaks he couldn’t attain. A sub-10,000-run Test career? Who could have predicted that when Virat Kohli was in his pomp…
For Kohli fans, his Test retirement is the second instalment of his fading away from cricket consciousness after his T20I exit in 2024. He still has ODI cricket left in him; he’s still hitting them out of the park in the IPL. That being so, his brand still holds promise to grow further. His brand has already reached where no cricketer ever has. Interestingly, it was during his tenure as India’s most successful Test captain, that his brand hit the ceiling.
The most followed Indian on Instagram (271 million) took to his social media handle of choice on Monday, with the Frank Sinatra song ‘I did it my way’ playing in the backdrop, that his time was up in Test cricket.
In an age where every promotional celebrity Insta post comes at a high cost, and he, the most expensive brand, is who advertisers still turn to for instant recall.
Talent spotters saw the early spark. Even before he had led India to victory in the U19 World Cup in 2008, Kohli had signed his first contract for Nike. ‘Cheeku’ to his fans, Kohli would cover drive with Nike pasted on his bat, to Sachin Tendulkar’s MRF.
It was a time when Nike was making a foray in the bat sponsorship space and Kohli was the first rising star they trusted. Kohli’s career took rapid strides with his ODI debut in 2008, T20I debut in 2010 and Test debut in 2011. In 2013, Kohli brought his Nike deal to a premature close, the two parties contested a legal case, before the court freed Kohli to explore other brands.
By then Kohli had ironed out creases in his game, had begun sporting a sharp beard and turned into a style icon. From Pepsi to MRF, Tissot to Colgate, Samsonite to Audi, Kohli’s multi-crore endorsement list was on the rise.
Tendulkar’s stellar career was over in 2013. Kohli took the baton forward; he began charging the biggest sum to sport the MRF sticker.
“Virat was the fiery Sachin Tendulkar,” said Shailendra Singh, brand guru. “Sachin’s cricket was unparalleled. But he lacked the spice, the flamboyance, youth connect, the tattoos, the aggression on the field. Virat brought all that at the right time because India had 600 million people below the age of 25 and he became their youth icon.”
Kohli would strike a deal with Adidas in 2014, then move to Puma in 2017. With Puma, his was the most publicised ₹100 crore long-term deal. Another ₹100 crore-plus contract extension with MRF followed. By now, Kohli was India captain across formats, the most high-profile job in cricket.
He would go on to reject a multi-crore deal with a cola giant to stay true to his image of a health-conscious athlete. His transformation from a paratha eating West Delhi boy to this modern athlete with a chiseled physique, devoted to his craft became a defining feature of his brand.
“He brought that sense of firepower of never say die. Even on the field, his energy was infectious. He had this unique brand connect. That is why he got the endorsements that he did,” Singh said. “The important thing was with all this; he never let it affect his performance, until he resigned as captain.”
A few years before Kohli resigned as captain in 2022, his performances with the bat had begun to take a hit. But India’s consumption story with the growing middle class and rise of a new class of elites had already propelled Kohli’s unrivalled brand to the top tier.
Kroll conducts a celebrity brand valuation survey every year and Kohli continues to top the charts. At last count in 2024, he was ranked 1 by the Kroll celebrity brand valuation survey with a brand value of $227.9 million.
Repeatedly, Kohli is also the only cricketer to feature among Forbes’ list of highest paid global sports athletes. When cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics was announced the Sports Director of LA28 would highlight Kohli’s status as being the third most followed athlete on social media behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Cricket is yet to become truly global, but the distance it has travelled in the last decade, Kohli’s brand has led the way to widen its reach. Even while his batting form experienced turbulence, his mere presence boosted stadium attendance. Kohli would be given disproportionate broadcast coverage for eyeballs. No pre-series promos would be complete without him.
“Indian cricket looked sexy and well packed with Virat Kohli,” said Singh. “It’s up to his managers now to see if they can turn him into a legacy brand.”
