Not Bollywood but cricket: How Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya are becoming India’s top brand magnets

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This story belongs to the issue:
June 2025
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This story belongs to the Fortune India Magazine June 2025 issue.

Sporting icons are not only sprinting on the field, but outshining Bollywood in the brand endorsement race.

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Not Bollywood but cricket: How Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya are becoming India’s top brand magnets

“WHAT’S IN A NAME?” Juliet may have wondered but in the world of celebrity endorsements, brand experts insist — it’s everything. A single controversy can dim the brightest star overnight.

Traditionally, brand endorsements have been associated with movie stars, across all ‘woods’. Yet, sporting icons like Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni proved to be a force to reckon with.