Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli on Friday dethroned top Bollywood superstars to become the first sportsperson ever to top the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list for the year 2019. Teammate and veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni and former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar are the only other sportspersons to feature in the top-10 list.
Top-10 2019 Forbes India Celebrity List: Kohli, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, MS Dhoni, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Sachin Tendulkar, Deepika Padukone.
"The celebrity ranks are based on an aggregate of the estimated earnings and their calculated fame quotient, via print and social media reach. Some celebrities who score very high on fame might be ranked higher than those who have stronger revenues, but a poor fame score," Forbes explains how the ranks are calculated.
Kohli bagged the top spot on the back of ₹252.72 crore he earned between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019 (the period of consideration for Forbes). This came through match fees, his BCCI central contract, brand endorsements and an eight-figure fee for every sponsored Instagram post.
Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar (₹293.25 crore) climbed to No 2 while Salman Khan, who ruled at the top spot since 2016, slipped to No 3. Dhoni stands fifth on the list. On the other hand, Sachin, who stands ninth, holds the record of featuring in the top-10 every year despite his retirement from the game in 2013. He earned 77 crore in the considered time frame.
Kohli is presently in Cuttack for the third and final ODI of the three-game series against West Indies. India lost the opener after two sensation centuries - from Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer - before Rohit Sharma's masterclass in Visakhapatnam helped India pull off the equaliser. India are now aiming for their tenth straight bilateral series win against West Indies on Sunday.
