Although the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series saw a neck-to-neck fight between the cricket teams of India and Australia, the fifth day of the Ahmedabad Test was moving at a slow pace. Meanwhile, something happened that refreshed everything. The spirited discussion between Virat Kohli and Akshar Patel changed the whole atmosphere.
Seeing this discussion, Virat’s fans started remembering the days when he used to be the captain of the Indian cricket team and used to win everyone’s heart with his performance and gestures on the field. Some social media users even said that Rohit Sharma has put forward Virat to take charge for the time being.
Sumit Sinha, founder and managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, says, “These are the times when brands look back and bet on the past performance of players. For most of these brands, it is not just the performance figures that matter, but the personality of the players on the field that pulls them in.
Experts who track brand preferences and their behavior say that such discussions on the field get captured in people’s minds and leave behind how the players perform in the match. Players like Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have been performing brilliantly of late but Virat has lagged a bit behind in this regard. But when it comes to the choice of brands, Virat’s popularity still prevails.
Virat took three-and-a-half years to score a new century in Tests while Jadeja has scored 2,593 runs in Tests since 2019 at an average of 37.03. These include three centuries. Jadeja has the highest scoring average after Rohit Sharma.
Ashwin is just one century away from matching Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s tally in Tests. Jadeja Ashwin is scoring runs for both the teams and at least in the Indian subcontinent, one after the other, he is getting Vijayshree to the team.
However, Virat’s poor performance hasn’t dented his status as a brand. Despite slipping slightly in 2021, his brand value is $ 185.7 million. Because of this, from vehicle companies to technical companies like Virat.
Virat’s status as a brand is not only higher than his competitors in cricket, but also higher than celebrities from the film world like Akshay Kumar and Alia Bhatt.
Experts believe that even in 2022, Virat’s dominance may continue. According to him, in particular, playing a key role in the T20 World Cup cricket victory kept his influence intact. Brand industry expert Harish Bijoor says that Virat has been a favorite of brands because of his memorable innings on certain occasions.
Bijoor says, “Virat has played many match-winning innings for the Indian cricket team. These shifts are still fresh in the minds of the people. Because of this, both brands and sports lovers like him a lot. Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin have also performed well during the last few years, but these two players probably cannot match the innings played by Virat.
Aparna Mahesh, chief marketing officer of education technology company Great Learning, says that her company had appointed Virat as its brand ambassador in 2020. Aparna said that Virat’s popularity is not limited to cricket grounds only. She says, ‘Virat’s personality is charismatic due to which he rules the hearts of young people in the country.’
along with glamor
People who are active on social media influence the decisions of brands. Bijoor says, “Virat has a very good image on social media outside the cricket field as well. Because of this, brands like him a lot.
Virat’s popularity on social media has been at its peak for the past several years and his followers are innumerable. Virat has a good image all over India as a fine player and an influential personality. people like them. This is the reason why Ashwin and Jadeja have not been able to match Virat’s popularity despite better performances.
Some experts say that due to the glare, Virat has been ahead in the eyes of the brand compared to the competing players. Sinha says, “There is no doubt that the superficial glare is also very important for the brand. Virat’s wife Anushka Sharma is a well-known personality herself. Because of this also brands do not hold back in betting on Virat.
Analysts say that if a player’s performance is consistently poor or his age increases, then the brand’s interest in him decreases. But according to Bijoor, once again Virat’s performance is mesmerizing everyone. Therefore, in Virat’s case, the issue of poor performance or growing age does not apply.
He says, ‘If we look at Virat’s last few innings, no one would say that Virat’s importance for the Indian national cricket team has ended. Virat is once again returning to his best and the brand understands that Virat still has a lot of potential left in him. More importantly, Virat has been the captain of the Indian cricket team and this also goes in his favour. Brands usually prefer captains (like Dhoni and Ganguly) to be their faces.
Sinha says people always remember the matches they can relate to. Brands also use this factor to their advantage. Sinha says, ‘When people see Virat playing on the field, they feel that a boy from Delhi is taking on the Australian team. This also inspires them to do something different.
People have also been looking at Dhoni as a source of inspiration. People have seen him rise from a small town in the country to the top of the cricket world. The Indian cricket team has also won the World Cup under Dhoni’s leadership. This is not the case in players like Jadeja and Ashwin.
Sinha says brands ignore performance in other sports and give importance to personality. “You can see the exact same thing in other sports,” says Sinha. Nadal and Djokovic may have won more Grand Slams than Federer, but Federer has been far ahead in winning the trust of brands.
There have been many athletes in India who have won medals at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games but have not shown the qualities that brands often look for. Aparna says, “Brands make the most popular sportsperson their face to reach out to maximum number of people. This is the reason why in the crowd of players only a few players like Virat rule the hearts of the brand.
