Indian skipper Virat Kohli going through the golden phase of his career. Ever since he became full-time captain, India has not lost a single series. Also, his form with the bat is exceptional and scoring runs at will.
Now, his brand value has touched a new height in this year’s list of most valuable athletes by Forbes. Kohli has surpassed Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi and ranked seventh in this list.
Swiss Tennis star Roger Federer is leading this chart with a brand value of $37.2 million, while Kohli’s value is $14.5 million. NBA star LeBron James and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt are second and third respectively.
Top 10 most valuable athletes:
- Roger Federer $37.2m
- LeBron James $33.4m
- Usain Bolt $27m
- Cristiano Ronaldo $21.5m
- Phil Mickelson $19.6m
- Tiger Woods $16.6m
- Virat Kohli $14.5m
- Rory McIlroy $13.6m
- Lionel Messi $13.5m
- Stephen Curry $13.4m
Kohli is in red-hot form since last two years and scored runs irrespective of any condition and opposition. In August, he led India to a 3-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka, which made him only Indian skipper to win two test series in Island nation. Moreover, India returned from there without losing a single game with a score line of 9-0.
Other than that, Kohli is leading the ODI run charts this year as he has scored over 1,300 runs which includes five centuries. In the process, he overtook Ricky Ponting to become the second leading century-maker in One-Day International history. Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman with more tons than Kohli.
