New Delhi: Former India cricket captain Virat Kohli retained his position as the most valued celebrity in 2021. However, his brand value has plunged by around 22 per cent to USD 185.7 million (close to Rs 1,400 crore). This is according to Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2021 released by Duff & Phelps. This is the fifth consecutive year when Virat Kohli has topped the chart, said the latest edition of the Celebrity Brand Valuation Report. It should be stated here that Kohli has recently stepped down from captaincy in all formats of the game.
Team India captain Rohit Sharma is at No.13 with a brand value of USD 32.2 million while Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has been ranked at 11th with a valuation of USD 47.4 million. In 2020, Kohli’s brand value was at USD 237.7 million.
Another former India skipper MS Dhoni is ranked fifth in 2021 with an increase of 69 per cent in his brand value to USD 61.2 million. In 2020, Dhoni was ranked 11th with a brand value of USD 36.3 million.
Also read: Virat Kohli explains why he avoided having coffee with AB de Villiers: See video
Actor Ranveer Singh has pipped older peer Akshay Kumar to become the second most valuable celebrity in India with USD 158.3 million worth. Kumar is now ranked third with the brand value of USD 139.6 million. Actor Alia Bhatt was at the fourth position, moving up two slots from 2020, with a brand value of USD 68.1 million. The Gangubai Kathiawadi actor entered the top five chart of the Celebrity Brand Valuation Report for the first time.
According to the report, the overall brand value of the top 20 celebrities in 2021 is estimated at USD 1.2 billion, up 12.9 per cent from last year.
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been ranked at No.6 with a valuation of USD 54.2 million, followed by Deepika Padukone at seventh with a brand value of USD 51.6 million.
Ace shuttler PV Sindhu has also entered the top 20 list. Sindhu, who has won the Swiss Open title, has been ranked 20th with a brand value of USD 22 million.
Among those on the list of top 20 celebrities, five are from the sports fraternity and the rest are from Bollywood and other entertainment industries.
“While prominent Bollywood celebrities continue to feature on our list of top 20 celebrity brands, this year we saw some notable changes,” said Aviral Jain, MD, Duff & Phelps A Kroll Business.
“Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, and MS Dhoni witnessed a stellar jump in their brand values. They seem to have hit the right chords with the audience in 2021. We also saw more sportspersons rising in the top celebrity rankings, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and PV Sindhu,” Jain added.
This significant jump in number of sportspersons was due to the lesser competition from Bollywood celebrities since there were fewer theatrical releases in 2021, Jain said.