Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has gone past the likes of Bollywood icons Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan when it comes to brand endorsements. According to a report published by TAM Media Research, the Indian cricket legend has not just outpaced his friends from the cinema world in the first half of the current year, but also left the iconic Virat Kohli way behind.
TAM is a joint venture between USA’s Nielsen and UK’s Kantar.
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The data made public by the research agency shows Dhoni has deals with 42 brands between January and June 2024 as compared to 41 by Amitabh and 34 by Shah Rukh. Two other cricketers feature in the top-10 list. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is at number eight with 24 brands, but surprisingly Kohli is at No. 10 with 21 brands, the same as Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh.
However, in the list of most visible endorsers for the same period, Dhoni is placed at number four, behind Amitabh and Shah Rukh. The top-10 list is headed by another icon from the silver screen, Akshay Kumar. Kohli and Ganguly don’t feature among the top 10.
The 43-year-old Dhoni, who was retained by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction held last month in Jeddah, is set to feature in another edition of the IPL next year.
Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020 but continues to play the IPL. However, he relinquished the CSK captaincy ahead of the 2024 season, handing over the leadership duties to Ruturaj Gaikwad.