Cricketer Virat Kohli (left), Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan (right). Photo: File

Star cricketer Virat Kohli is not only shining in the cricket world but has also come up as India?s most valuable brand dethroning Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, according to a report by corporate advisers Duff and Phelps.

?For the first time since 2014, Shah Rukh Khan has slipped from the top ranking and has been replaced by Kohli,? Indian media quoted Duff and Phelps MD Varun Gupta as saying. ?Kohli is now the first choice of brands to engage and attract consumers.?

According to the managing director of Puma India, which the cricketer endorses, Kohli has changed the way fitness is looked at in Indian cricket. The Indian media has quoted Puma managing director, Abhishek Ganguly, as saying that Kohli has emphasised the role of an athlete and reshaped cricket in the millennial culture. ?He is a youth icon with effortless style.?

Kohli signed an eight-year deal with Puma earlier in the year, becoming the first Indian sportsperson to sign a Rs1 billion endorsement deal with a single brand.

The Indian media reported Dull and Phelps Dicrector Aviral Jain as saying that Bollywood celebrities continue to dominate the top 15, but spokespersons like Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and PV Sindhu are providing a tough competition. He added the sportspersons conllectively valued at $180 million which is almost a quarter of the total celebrity brand value of the top 15.