India’s golden boy Virat Kohli has been names the ‘Third Most Marketable Sportsperson’ in the world. In a survey published by SportsPro magazine, Kohli is noted as racing past football superstar Lionel Messi, ranked 27, and World No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic, ranked 23.
NBA’s ‘Most Valuable Player’ Stephen Curry and Juventus’ French international Paul Pogba rank ahead of Kohli.
Ace tennis star Sania Mirza is ranked in the top 50.
According to SportsPro, which does extensive research on the business of sports, the criteria of ranking athletes from across the world is marketing potential over a three-year period from this summer.
The components they have been assessed are value for money, age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed and crossover appeal.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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