A brief introduction before I get into the story: In cricket, a red ball is used in Test matches, while a white ball is used in T20 cricket and the 50-overs-a-side ODI format.
On September 16th, Virat Kohli took to social media to announce that he would no longer remain the captain of India’s T-20 team. A few weeks later, this was followed by an statement that Kohli had to let go of his captaincy for all white-ball formats. This means he is no longer India’s T20 or ODI captain. Now we will see Rohit Sharma taking over from Captain Kohli to lead the team. Other than team India’s performance and their individual performances, it’s interesting to see how this can impact Virat Kohli’s brand.
In India, you can see a ‘captain-takes-all’ trend. The biggest and best brand endorsements have gone to team captains. Think about it: Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni and none other than Virat Kohli. There are other players who are equally good- Yuvraj Singh, Virendar Sehwag, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma. These players have gotten a few brand endorsements but nothing close to the captains. Kohli currently has over 40 endorsements currently.
Kohli is one of the most influential cricket player who is the face of various brands and has a huge following on social media platforms, especially Instagram. Despite the change in white-ball captaincy, he still remains India’s test cricket captain. Going forward, his stats will play a greater role in receiving brand deals.
- In 97 test matches, Kohli has scored 7801 runs with a high score of 254*
- In 254 ODIs, he has scored a whopping 12169 with a highest score of 183
- In 95 T20 games, he has scored 3227 runs in total with a high score of 94*
- In IPL, Kohli has played 207 matches, scored 6283 runs and scored 113 in one innings
Those statistics are pretty impressive. But Kohli still has to maintain these averages and increase the runs. But getting numbers will only get tougher as he gets older. This is also evident from his performance over the past few matches.
In a poll administered by Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB), they asked 382 respondents to answer a few questions about Kohli. 82% of the respondents believe that Kohli will do better with the bat without the burden on captaincy. They also asked if Kohli will be seen in lesser ads now that he’s no longer a white-ball captain? To this 44% of the respondents said maybe, 40% said yes and 16% said no. There are two sides to how Brand Kohli will be affected by this: most believe it has a negative impact but there’s also a few who believe it will be better for Kohli. (source: ET)
It’s pretty self-explanatory as to how it will negatively impact his brand value. Since he isn’t the captain anymore and he isn’t the best performing batsman currently, he might not be the first choice for brands.
The success of Brand Kohli will now be largely dependent on his batting performance, with or without the captaincy. He forfeited his captaincy to concentrate on his batting. That was a wise decision on his part, considering that his performance over the past couple of years wasn’t his usual bold self. Without the pressure of captaincy, he can focus on what matters most: his performance.
It’s important to note that Virat Kohli has been India’s most valuable celebrity for four consecutive years according to Duff and Phelps’ ‘Celebrity Brand Valuation Study.’ Kohli’s brand value was estimated to be a whopping $237.7 million. He is the only non-film personality to make it to the top 10 of the list. Kohli is on the top by a large margin. He is followed by Akshay Kumar, who’s brand valuation is $118.9 million. He endorses 30 brands, the most by an Indian celebrity today. (source: Duff and Phelps’ study)
These numbers will be tough to match. Rohit Sharma was 17th (up from 20th in 2019) on the Duff and Phelp’s celebrity list with a valuation of $25.7 million.
That brings us to the positive effect it might have. According to the MD of Samsika Marketing Consultant, this could positively affect Brand Kohli up to 50%. Earlier, brand Kohli was only about aggression, but the statement he released makes him look more like a mature team player.
Virat is relevant not just because of his captaincy and cricket performance, but also because of his lifestyle. He constantly promotes fitness, healthy eating, exercising etc. That helps him connect with his audience. Other than this, his fashion sense appeals to brands and their audience. Brands aren’t just looking for the captaincy tag, they require someone people will listen to. His passion for Food, Fitness and Fashion help the audience to identify with him.
There is also the possibility that this might not affect his brand value too much.
His social media has grown at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 34.5% since 2018, which is more than any other celebrity in India. In 2020 alone, his cumulative following across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter swelled by nearly 60%. His engagement per post is close to 3 million according to the study by Duff and Phelps. He topped the social media ranking and has the best engagement rate according to the study.
Even those who don’t follow cricket, know who Kohli is. There’s a good chance that his brand value won’t diminish since he is viewed as a celebrity, not merely a cricket team captain. He is an inspiration and role model for youth today. His appeal is pan-India, which is rare for a celebrity.
Take a look at Dhoni… He retired from all forms of international cricket and yet he receives so many endorsements. He is ranked 11th in terms of brand value according to Duff & Phelps. Kohli seems to be headed down a similar road.
Only time will tell if this decision will work out in Kohli’s favour. Kohli has to focus on his performance and let the bat do the talking. Brand deals will follow. It’s time for Brand Kohli to re-invent itself!
The Echo-nomist 
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