The superstar Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is shattering and creating new records on and off the field. While the 34-year-old continues to rack up runs in 2023 across formats, Virat Kohli has also surged up in the list of most searched athletes in the world on Google in 2023.
Kohli, who boasts 261 million Instagram followers, which is the most for any Indian on Instagram, is now the 5th highest-searched athlete in the world in 2023, according to a report in Livemint.
Kohli’s craze has been growing around the world and he is unarguably the biggest and most famous cricketing giant in the world currently. Such is Kohli’s reach this year that he’s in in the same top 5 list as football demigods Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and Basketball great LeBron James.
Even though cricket is not as famous or known sport as football is in the world, the craze and passion among fans of Virat Kohli is a testament to his immense success on the field.
World’s most searched athletes and sports people on Google in 2023:
1) Cristiano Ronaldo – 199.4 M
2) Neymar Jnr – 140.9 M
3) Lional Messi – 104.4 M
4) LeBron James – 72.1 M
5) Virat Kohli – 68 M
Virat Kohli brings cricket into Olympics After 128 Years
More proof of the legacy and his famousness in the world recently was recognized by the Olympic committee as Kohli was used as a selling point by the LA Local Organising Committee (LALOG) to bring cricket back to the Olympics after 128 years.
The director of LA LOCOG, Niccolo Campriani, acknowledged the influence and reach of Indian superstar cricketer Virat Kohli.
“We are thrilled to welcome the world’s second-most popular sport with an estimated 2.5 billion fans worldwide, We all recognise the critical importance of a strong digital presence in order to keep the games relevant for the youth. And cricket is offering a unique platform to do so,” Campriani said.
“Think [about] my friend here Virat Kohli. He’s the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media with 314 million followers. That’s more than LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28.”
Talking about his current form, Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer currently in World Cup 2023 with 354 runs in 5 innings at an average of 118.
