The sport of cricket is more famous than ever, thanks to the domestic T20 leagues like the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), and the Indian Premier League (IPL), which looks like a domestic league from its name, but it is international as many international cricketers take part in this league. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the major reasons that has made cricket more popular in India. It is a cricket extravaganza in which several domestic cricket teams take part to win the coveted IPL trophy.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament’s duration is around two months, in which 10 teams (as of May 2024) compete against each other. Each team plays 14 matches and after the completion of each team’s 14 matches, the top four teams qualify for the next round and those four teams compete in eliminator and qualifier matches. The top two teams that are left in the end will enter the final and compete for the trophy. This league has an enormous fan base and that’s why you see a large flux of people coming to stadiums to watch their favorite cricket stars in action.
The fans love to watch IPL cricket matches as they entertain them and also allow them to earn just through the knowledge they have gained by watching cricket matches. You will ask how one can earn by watching cricket matches. So the answer is by placing cricket bets. Ensure you select the right online betting sites; otherwise, you may end up losing money without placing a cricket bet. The popularity of leagues, such as the IPL has also increased the following of the cricketing stars. Let’s now talk about the top five most followed Indian cricketers on social media.
- Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is the Indian sports figure with the largest number of followers on social media, a fact well known to everyone. He holds the title of the most followed Asian on Instagram, where he frequently shares fitness tips, insights into his family life, and promotes various brands. His Instagram following exceeds 270 million and continues to increase. Moreover, Kohli enjoys a substantial fan base on other platforms, including Twitter, where he has more than 58.7 million followers.
It is Virat Kohli’s profession, i.e., cricket that makes him popular and his unique batting style is what separates him from the rest of the Indian cricketers. He is second on the list of players with the most runs scored in international cricket. In September 2024, he completed the milestone of 27,000 international runs. He is the only active cricketer with this much fan base.
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, commonly referred to as MS Dhoni, is the second most followed retired Indian cricketer on social platforms. His significant fan base is attributed to his outstanding skills in wicket-keeping and batting. Although he has stepped away from international cricket, he continues to participate in club cricket leagues like the Indian Premier League. Under MS Dhoni’s leadership, the Indian Men’s Cricket team secured the prestigious ODI World Cup trophy for the second time in 2011.
MS Dhoni accomplished everything during his tenure as captain of the Indian Men’s Cricket team, including winning the 2011 ODI World Cup, the 2007 T20 World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy. It was also under Dhoni’s leadership that India became the top-ranked Test team for the first time in 2009. Dhoni is renowned for his skills in wicket-keeping as well as his batting prowess. His iconic helicopter shot six against Sri Lanka in the 2011 Men’s Cricket World Cup remains vivid in the memory of fans. He boasts over 49.6 million followers on Instagram.
- Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar is rated as the God of Cricket as what he has achieved during his cricket career no one has reached there until now. He is on the top of the list of Cricketers with the most runs in both Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs). Also, he has played the most number of matches in both the Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs), which is also a record in itself.
Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to score 100 international centuries and the first batter to score a double century in One Day International. Also, he is the only sportsperson to be awarded the Bharat Ratna by the Government of India for his contribution to Indian cricket. All these reasons make him the third most followed cricketer on social media platforms. He is just behind MS Dhoni with 49.5 million followers on Instagram.
- Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is another active cricketer who is currently among the top five followed Indian cricketers on social media. Rohit is a new entrant in this list and his followers count just grew exponentially after the Indian team won the T20 2024 World Cup held in the USA and the West Indies. His achievements in recent times have won him many accolades and became the reason behind the increase in the follower count.
Apart from winning the T20 World Cup, the Indian team reached the 2023 ODI World Cup Final and was just defeated by the Australian team. When we talk about the follower count of Rohit Sharma on Instagram, is 42 million, which is a huge number.
- Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya is also an active cricketer who features in the top five most followed Indian cricketers and he is an all-rounder who can do both batting and bowling. Apart from being a member of the Men’s cricket team, he is the captain of Mumbai Indians, an IPL team.
Hardik played a crucial role in the famous 2024 T20 World Cup final, where he took wickets at a crucial juncture and turned the match in the Indian team’s favor. This thing worked well has turned Hardik’s fortune as his followers count just swelled up after that win. If we talk about his following on Instagram, the count is over 35 million.
This is all about the five most followed Indian cricketers on social media, and the reason for their fan following is listed in this post. You will also get information about the Indian Premier League, a club cricket tournament played in March, April, and May.