Despite losing 20%, Kohli unbeaten at top in brand value

New Delhi: Former India cricket captain Virat Kohli retained his position as the most valued celebrity in 2021 even though his brand value has plunged by around 22 per cent to $185.7 million (close to Rs1,400 crore), according to Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2021 released by Duff & Phelps. This is the fifth consecutive year when the ace cricketer, who recently stepped down from captaincy in all formats of the game, has topped the chart, said the latest edition of the Celebrity Brand Valuation Report.

Team India captain Rohit Sharma is at number 13 with a brand value of $32.2 million, while Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has been ranked at 11th with a valuation of $47.4 million. In 2020, Kohli's brand value was at $237.7 million. Another former India skipper MS Dhoni ranked fifth in 2021 with an increase of 69 per cent in his brand value to $61.2 million. In 2020, Dhoni was ranked 11th with a brand value of $36.3 million. Actor Ranveer Singh has pipped older peer Akshay Kumar to become the second most valuable celebrity in India with $158.3 million worth. Kumar is now ranked third with the brand value of $139.6 million. Actor Alia Bhatt was at the fourth position, moving up two slots from 2020, with a brand value of $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 $1.2 billion, up 12.9 per cent from last year. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been ranked at number six with a valuation of $54.2 million, followed by Deepika Padukone at seventh position with a brand value of $51.6 million. Ace shuttler P V 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 $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. Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps A Kroll Business, said: "While prominent Bollywood celebrities continue to feature on our list of top 20 celebrity brands, this year we saw some notable changes. Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, and MS Dhoni witnessed a stellar jump in their brand values, and 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 P V Sindhu," he said.