Virat Kohli credits social media popularity to on-field performances
After becoming the second most followed Indian on Facebook, Virat Kohli has claimed that the team's performance on the field is the major reason for his popularity on the platform. Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi (42.2m) is now ahead of the Indian Captain (35.7m) in terms of followers on Facebook.
Amidst the whole Anil Kumble saga, India started their Caribbean tour off with a washed out game at the Queen's Park Oval before claiming their first win at the same venue a couple of days later. It seems that the Indian cricket fans have already moved on from the Kumble debacle and the Champions Trophy final loss to Pakistan as Kohli became the second most followed Indian on Facebook.
Kohli who was playing at an unbeaten 32 in the first match and missed out on his century by 13 runs in the second, has attributed the admiration he receives on social media as a "by-product" of his team's showing on the cricketing field.
"This is a bi-product of what we do on field, feel happy on hearing such things," Kohli said, reported ANI.
"More fans have been supporting us, it is priceless. Keep supporting the team."
On the world stage, Virat Kohli stands at number 52 in the list of most followed celebrities, a list led by Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo with an incredible 121.6 million followers.