Virat Kohli reaches the 100 crores milestone in endorsement deals

India’s batting star Virat Kohli just added another feather to his ever-growing list of achievements and has joined the INR 100 crores club in endorsement deals, with total of 13 brands under his kitty this year.

Kohli who became the fulltime Test captain of India last year, after the retirement of MS Dhoni during the Australia tour in 2015, is now one of the top batsmen in every format. “Virat has, for a while, been darling of the advertisers. Now I think he is just driving the point home. Today, he is very much on par, if not higher, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” said Kohli’s manager Bunty Sajdeh, founder and CEO of Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment.

It all began with an INR 10 crores a year deal with Germany’s sport giants Adidas in 2014. This is the same brand that had a contract with former India batsman, the great Sachin Tendulkar. Today Kolhi has endorsement deals with some of the top national and international brands like Pepsi, Audi, Vicks, Boost, USL, TVS, Smaash, Nitesh Estates, Tissot, Herbalife, and Colgate. He also has an INR 6.5 crores a year deal with MRF for his bat.

“He is physically and mentally very strong and comes across as fearless. He ticks out the top five boxes that any advertiser will look for while engaging with a celebrity. He is giving advertisers a reason to look outside Bollywood, which is a much cluttered space. That is why he is so successful at such a young age,” Sajdeh added.

What sets Kohli apart from the likes of Sachin and Sourav Ganguly in terms of endorsements is that unlike Tendulkar who was extremely shy when it came to advertisements and promotional activities, Kohli loves the attention and is ready to do whatever is asked of him.

It is also expected that Kohli will leave Dhoni behind in terms of total money earned from endorsements by the end of this year. “His latest innings against Pakistan has clearly established his temperament. Team India will accept him as a leader without any resistance. He is a youth icon, talented, aggressive and comes across as a person, who will do everything possible to win.” said Vinit Karnik, business head of ESP Properties.

Also like his idol Sachin Tendulkar, to whom Kohli dedicated his match winning 55* against Pakistan, the Delhi boy also has stakes in the some of the ventures like Chisel Fitness (gym), Wrogn (clothing line), UAE Royals (Dubai tennis team of International Premier Tennis League), FC Goa (Goa franchise of Indian Super League), Bengaluru Yodhas (JSWowned Pro Wrestling League team), and London-based tech startup SportConvo.