LONDON – Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has beaten the likes of sprint king Usain Bolt and football superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to secure sixth place as the ‘most marketable athlete’ by British Sports business magazine Sports Pro.
The 26-year-old was ranked below British Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton with Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard topping the list. The Canadian tennis star climbed from No. 13 in 2014 to the top of the list in 2015.
Brazilian football superstar Neymar was named the second most marketable sportsperson. United States golfer Jordan Spieth came in third while American swimmer Missy Franklin ranked fourth.
Below Kohli, United States basketball star Stephen Curry was at seventh, followed by Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori, British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Bolt in the top 10.
Tennis player Novak Djokovic was placed at 14 while Ronaldo and Messi at number 16 and 22 respectively. The only other cricketer in the list, Steven Smith of Australia, got the 45th spot.
The magazine said it considered the marketing potential of an athlete over the next three years, not their current potential.
Athletes across the world were ranked against criteria including age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed and crossover appeal, following several weeks of analysis by the SportsPro team and external industry experts, the magazine said.
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