Will Virat Kohli lose his brand value to Rohit Sharma & KL Rahul now?

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been India’s most valuable celebrity for four consecutive years. 

Kohli’s brand value in 2021 was estimated to be a whopping $237.7 million, as per the Duff & Phelps’ ‘Celebrity Brand Valuation Study’— an annual ranking of India’s leading celebs based on their endorsement portfolios and social media presence. He was also the only sports personality who made it to the top 10, a list dominated by Bollywood stars. 

However, December came as a spoiler for one of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket when he was abruptly removed from the ODI captaincy after Rohit Sharma was given the ODI leadership, with the BCCI undergoing a major limited-overs revamp ahead of the South Africa tour. Kohli had already stepped down as India's T20 skipper last year citing "immense workload". 

Kohli endorses 30-odd brands across sectors and categories, including F&B, mobile phone, ACs, fitness supplements, healthcare products, Edtech, apparel, online gaming, cars and tyres, smartphones, audio gadgets, snack food, digital insurance, smartwatches and luxury watches, travel and transportation. 

He reportedly earns more than $200 million annually from endorsements alone. 

Is losing captaincy in all main formats going to affect his brand value? Ad experts like Sandeep Goyal believe so. They cite Indian cricket and the advertising world's tradition of hero worshiping. 

Rohit Sharma (new ODI captain) and KL Rahul (current test team captain) will attract some brands now, industry experts feel. 

KS Chakravarthy, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Tidal7 Brand and Digital tells e4m, “Virat Kohli has the charisma and the star power to still be a very sought after brand endorser. But yes, people like Rohit and KL Rahul will attract some of it, and given the sheer number of T20s, they will become more salient, and the pie will get divided a bit.”

"But it's a good thing for Indian cricket - it's time we had more stars", Chakravarthy, who is fondly called Chax, said. 

The dent to Virat’s brand value would not be significant though, says Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist, Investor, and former marketer at HP Inc, Motorola, and PepsiCo.

“The impact on Virat Kohli’s brand value will not be significant enough. Virat is easily India’s most popular sports star with an estimated value of nearly $250 million. He is among the world’s best cricketers and is still at the peak of his career,” says Mathias. 

Virat’s persona has been built over the years of his cricketing genius, Mathias points out. He adds, “He is one half of India’s best-known celebrity couple; a caring husband who took time off during the birth of his daughter; a committed passionate and peak fitness-oriented athlete and increasingly a smart communicator who says the right things, and is a role model for today's youth.” 

Shashank Lanjekar, Chief Strategy Officer, Taproot Dentsu, disagrees. “Stepping down from the T20 and ODI captaincies may lure and tempt some negotiators to take a shot at fee reductions, it won’t cut ice,” he tells e4m. 

Lanjekar explains, “While most celebrities are situation-elastic, there are quite a few who enjoy almost complete inelasticity. Virat Kohli exemplifies the latter and his form or captaincy isn’t going to affect his sheen simply because while captaincy is a big deal, his talent, form, and resultant current and future potential are out of the question. And one can just take a look at his track record to understand why his position in the valuation world is unshakeable.”

It is noteworthy that Kohli was stripped of his leadership role despite an exceptional victory record of 70.43 percent, which is the highest by an Indian ODI skipper who led the team for more than 10 matches. 

“Remember what Bill Shankly said – Form is temporary, class is permanent. And Virat has joined that list of classy legends at a very early age,” Lanjekar says. 

On Rohit Sharma’s possible gain, Lanjhekar says, “Rohit has always shown a penchant for leadership in the IPL and now with the T20 and ODI responsibilities, he has his tasks cut out. He has the opportunity to continue the legendary icy-cool legacy of MSD since he too is a relatively cool customer even at the helm (Evidenced in seriously close IPL matches). Are the stakes high? Well, it doesn’t get any higher than the captain of the Indian cricket team, does it? But I suspect Rohit’s eyes are set on the rewards, not on the risks.”

Shreyansh Baid, Founder and Director, Shreyansh Innovations, agrees with Lanjhekar. "Kohli had the sheen, immense fan following and consumer following when he was not a captain. It's just a matter of time. I’m sure his charm will come back. He is a great player, a man of superb commitment, discipline and phenomenal talent,” says Baid, who is in talks and closing terms on two projects with Kohli.