Kohli overtakes Salman Khan to become second most-followed Indian on Facebook

By
Web Desk
India captain Virat Kohli/ICC

Virat Kohli is now only one spot behind becoming the ‘King’ of Facebook in India. The Indian skipper has surpassed Bollywood star Salman Khan to become the second most-followed Indian on Facebook, behind only Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kohli, with 35 million Facebook followers, is the most followed sportsperson in India and now just behind Narendra Modi, who has 42.2 million Facebook followers.

The 28-year-old cricketer has left behind celebrities like Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, and leads Sachin Tendulkar by more than 7.1 million likes.

Kohli pictured with Sachin Tendulkar. File photo:AFP

Kohli also stars in the list of the fastest-growing pages of sportspersons on Facebook, which is led by football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. All the top 10 athletes in this list include footballers, except Kohli and American wrestler John Cena.

Earlier this month, Kohli also became the sole athlete from India to feature in the 2017 Forbes list of the world's highest-paid athletes, ranking 89th with a total pay of $22 million. The list was led by football star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Indian cricket team, after suffering a heavy defeat by Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy final on June 18, is currently on tour to the West Indies.