Virat Kohli becomes first-ever cricketer to touch 50 million followers on Twitter

Virat Kohli added another feather to his already-decked cap as he became the first cricketer to reach 50 million followers on Twitter. Earlier, he had become the first Indian to surpass 200 million followers on Instagram, also making him the third-most followed athlete on the social media platform after footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The former India and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper returned to cricket after a month off in preparation for the Asia Cup, ending a long wait for his 71st century by smashing an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in India's final Asia Cup encounter. He ended his campaign as India’s leading run-scorer, and the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament overall with 276 runs under his belt.

His social media following was already strong, but it reached new heights when Virat scored his first T20I ton and announced his comeback to bigger plans in the 22-yard arena. He boasts of having 49 million Facebook fans, which helped him reach 310 million followers overall on social media, adding to the already astronomical numbers. This achievement would make other movie stars envy his success.

Virat Kohli achieved newer heights during Asia Cup 2022

Kohli left the T20I captaincy to focus on his game, which had taken a different road a while back. The 33-year-old tried his best, but could not put up a remarkable performance. But the Asia Cup 2022 changed the scenario completely. He started with a 35-run knock in the first game against Pakistan, and then went on to bag two consecutive half-centuries, one each against Hong Kong and Pakistan.

After facing a setback against Sri Lanka and being dismissed for a duck, he bounced back stronger than ever to break all boundaries and overcome all obstacles in the game against Afghanistan. Kohli went on to score a 61-ball 122* while opening the game alongside KL Rahul. He stood strong throughout the 20-overs and broke multiple records that day with his maiden T20I hundred. He will now be seen in India’s home series against Australia and South Africa before starting with the T20 World Cup preparations.