If you were to look for a cricketer who’s not only immaculate with his performances but also sophisticated with his witty and aggressive personality, not to mention their dynamic wealth, then maybe a couple of names may come into your name. The list would probably dominate Indians based on recognition, branding, and top earnings. Then, if it comes down to only one individual, it evidently and unconvincingly will be Virat Kohli—atleast among the active cricketers.
You may think of Sachin Tendulkar or MSD; they all stand tall among the wealthiest or net worth-wise, but Virat Kohli stands tall as he has been over the years.
Virat’s impeccable Cricketing Career and Achievements
Being one of the most decorated cricketers out there with all kinds of individual milestones, he has surely placed himself as the batter who is among the undisputed GOATs, quite possibly being The GOAT after ending his career. Thus, it is no wonder the wealth he has accumulated makes him undeserving of the highest-earning cricketer currently. Everyone knows Kohli and his absurd numbers but nevertheless, let’s revisit the great man’s stat.
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s |
| Test | 113 | 191 | 8848 | 254* | 49.1 | 55.6 | 29 |
| ODI | 292 | 280 | 13848 | 183 | 58.7 | 93.6 | 50 |
| T20I | 117 | 109 | 4037 | 122* | 51.8 | 138.2 | 1 |
| IPL | 237 | 229 | 7263 | 113 | 37.2 | 130 | 7 |
These numbers are truly beyond remarkable, it is some degree god-like because there are many batters who dream of achieving less than half of what he has done and would deem as an illustrious career.
During the last ICC ODI World Cup, he surpassed his idol, the one and only Sachin Tendulkar, making him the played legend and the undisputed Greatest of all time.
Throughout his career, Virat has given nothing but his absolute peak to the Indian team. In the past 5-7 years period, the only off period he has was during the years 2021 and 2022 which was in the Covid time. Apart from that, in all those years, including 2023, he had a whopping average of 45+ in all formats.
The man, the king of run chases, has given it all and is still continuing to do so, like being instrumental during the 2011 World Cup Winning Campaign to innumerable run chases as well as his leadership roles like having the record of most wins in test matches against SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries than any other Indian.
His numbers are a testament to his absurd wealth creation which I will be extensively talking about as we move on.
Brand Endorsements, personal businesses, and investments
Virat’s net worth is a whopping 126 million dollars, which is around 1050 Crore Rupees. And, this is a culmination of all of his brand deals, investments, owned businesses, social media and salaries from matches. In the Forbes 2020 list, he was 66th out of the 100 most-paid athletes annually. In that year alone, Virat earned around 26 million dollars. He has investments and endorsements in various industries worldwide, primarily in the food, clothing, and sports industries.
Virat’s Social Media and Endorsements
He has over 30 brand endorsements, which are from local and foreign brands where he charges around 3-7 crore rupees (3-7.5 million USD) he is with brands like Manyavar, Puma, Firebolt, and various more.
As for social media posts, on Instagram, he charges a mammoth 7-9 crore rupees per post, and on Twitter, he charges 2.5 crore rupees per tweet.
You may think that the amount of revenue he is generating, at least on social media, is pretty unfair even after his illustrious career. But, I’d surely disagree with you because of the reach Virat is creating; Virat, as of now, has 266 million followers just on Instagram, which is the 3rd most among athletes (First being Cristiano Ronaldo and Second being Lionel Messi) and on Twitter, he has 60.5 million followers. So, we can clearly comprehend that Virat has more reach than populations of various countries combined. Naturally, if a brand endorses Virat Kohli, they will definitely be earning more than the amount they are paying him.
Virat’s match fees
As per the latest BCCI reports, Virat falls in the A+ category of players where these category players will receive 7 crore rupees annually whether or not they play. This list includes players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja.
And, apart from his annual retention fee, Virat, for test matches, receives 15 lac rupees, and for ODIs and T20Is, he receives 6 lac and 3 lac rupees, respectively.
And, as for his IPL contract, his loyalty towards Royal Challengers Bangalore earns him around 15 to 20 crore rupees through the season. After leaving captaincy in 2021, it is speculated that he now earns 15 crore rupees per season. So, to summarize.
Annual Retain Earnings: 7 Crore Rupees per year
Per Test Match: 15 Lac Rupees
Per ODI Match: 6 Lac Rupees
Per T20I Match: 3 Lac Rupees
IPL Season: 15 Crore Rupees
Investments and businesses he owns
In terms of assets and wealth creation, he is undoubtedly one of the successful cricket entrepreneurs having investments in more than 20 firms and startups. Let us now speak about a few core brands Virat owns or has a significant amount of Stake in.
Wrogn
His very own clothing brand, which focuses on breakaway youth fashion, where you’ll see all kinds of streetwear and accessories. He is the co-owner and brand ambassador of Wrogn. Through Virat’s aggressive promotion alone, he turned the net worth of the brand from 4 Crore Rupees to 112 Crore Rupees.
One8 (Subsidiary of Puma)
Being the brand ambassador of Puma for years led to collaboration with them to launch his own sports brand, One8. In 2017, Virat did a partnership with Puma, which is an enormous 110 Crore deal of 8 years. To this day, he is the 1st Indian sportsperson to secure a brand deal worth more than 100 crore.
The brand name One8 has come from jersey number 18. One8 is known for selling sports accessories along with Sports Clothing
Chisel Fitness
Being the fitness freak he is and quite possibly the fittest cricketer there currently is, naturally Virat owns a stake in a fitness company named Chisel Fitness which is designed to create fitness centers all over India creating atleast 70 branches by the end of of 2025. He has invested 90 crore rupees in Chisel Fitness owing a 30% share.
Sport Convo
Sport is a platform where people from diverse backgrounds can connect and speak, that is where Sport Convo comes in. A platform where people from various places in the world and discuss their favorite games teams and players. Virat Kohli has his investments in this tech startup and apart from that, players like Gareth Bale also promote Sport Convo.
Sports Teams He Co-owns or has a stake
Virat Kohli being an active player himself owns teams outside of Cricket and if you see any of his interviews, you can clearly comprehend that he is an overall sports fanatic. Let us talk about some of the sports teams he owns.
UAE Royals
We have all seen that famous picture of Virat Kohli, Roger Federer, and Anushka Sharma together. Virat actually loves tennis and visits tennis matches whenever he gets the time. That is where we can understand his ownership behind UAE Royals, a tennis team at the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) where elite players like Djokovic and Federer have played.
FC GOA
Virat during one of his interviews said that if he wasn’t a Cricketer then he’d be a footballer. That is where you can understand the aspirations behind owning the FC Goa which is the football team in the Indian Super League.
At simply the age of 25 he became one of the co-owners of FC Goa being a 25% stakeholder of the club and annually he invests around 1 crore rupees.
Accumulated wealth with his wife, Anushka Sharma
The power couple of India, Virat Kohli and actress Anushka Sharma, Virushka as they are often called by the fans and media has a combined net worth of over 1200 crore rupees (over 155 million US Dollars). Let us talk about their investments and philanthropic efforts together.
Blue Tribe
Virat Kohli, someone who is an advocate of Vegetarianism and a practicing Vegetarian, has launched a Start-up called Blue Tribe with his wife Anushka Sharma that creates 100% vegan and vegetarian food, which is plant-based meat that tastes completely like meat and no animals are killed for it.
Digit Insurance
This is another investment of power coupled together. Digit Insurance is a company that provides health, automobile, travel, real estate, and even mobile phone insurance. Virat has invested 1.73 crore rupees worth of shares, and Anushka Sharma has invested in 43 lac rupees worth of shares.
Virat’s engagement in Philanthropy
Virat has, without too much limelight, unlike his brands and endorsements, been actively engaging in Philanthropic activities through his own Virat Kohli foundation and SeVVA, which is a joint non-profit with his wife, which stands for Se (of Self), V (of Virat), V (of Vamika) A (of Anushka). Both of these brands are rigorously engaged in Sports development, Education for the youth and women, and things like animal welfare.
So he is not just wealthy through financial success; the great man is wealthy in terms of his Philanthropic success as well.
The other cricketers who are the richest in their own right
Apart from Virat Kohli, there are plenty of cricketers who can come forth in the conversation. Ex-cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have higher net worths than Virat. There are other players who go into the conversation, the likes of Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Jacque Kallis, and a few others, all of whom are retired now while Virat being active and dominating.
To conclude!
To understand in a nutshell, Virat Kohli emerges not only as a cricket player with extraordinary achievements but as a visionary entrepreneur, solidifying his status as one of the most successful cricket entrepreneurs globally. His immaculate cricketing career, marked by unparalleled statistics and captaincy records, has propelled him to the forefront of the game. As the wealthiest batsman in cricket, Kohli’s wealth extends far beyond match earnings, encompassing a diversified portfolio of brand endorsements, social media influence, and strategic investments in businesses like Wrogn, One8, and Chisel Fitness. With a net worth of $126 million, Kohli, alongside his wife Anushka Sharma, has ventured into ventures like Blue Tribe and Digit Insurance, showcasing a commitment to sustainable businesses. Beyond financial success, Virat Kohli’s philanthropic initiatives through the Virat Kohli Foundation and SeVVA underscore his holistic wealth, contributing significantly to sports development, education, and animal welfare. In essence, Kohli epitomizes the modern cricket icon, blending his on-field unrivaled quality with off-field business leader skills, solidifying his legacy as a millionaire and successful cricket entrepreneur.
