Virat Kohli Reaches 250 Million Instagram Followers, First Indian to Scale Landmark

Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli scaled yet another milestone as he became the first person from the nation to cross the 250 million followers mark on the social photo-sharing platform Instagram.

Kohli is the athlete with the third highest follower numbers on Instagram behind only universal superstars and footballing icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who have 585 million and 464 million followers respectively.

The former Indian captain has garnered a massive fanbase in the cricket-crazy nation thanks to his exploits with the willow for the men in blue over the course of his glittery career.

Kohli has been described as the gold standard for modern-day batsmen in the game thanks to his incredible consistency and temperament. His steely grit has led India to many wins over the years. The 34-year-old has also managed to stand out with his sharp sense of fashion and build a successful brand with multi-million dollar endorsement deals.

The boom in the number of online users thanks to the advancement of technology and the availability of affordable internet played a huge part in the rise of Kohli’s profile in the online paradigm and the maverick Indian batsman was in a position to utilise the opportunity to his advantage.

His marriage to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma further bolstered his image throughout the country and across the globe.

Kohli has also managed to cultivate a cult following amongst the fans of the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, having represented the Karnataka-based team ever since the inception of the league back in the year 2008.

Kohli has gone on to become the indisputable face of the Bengaluru side and came up with a sensational performance in the ongoing edition of the money-rich T20 league, but was once again unable to power his team to the IPL trophy.

The highly lucrative IPL title yet remains elusive and out of reach to the Delhi-born batsman, despite his awe-inspiring performance in the 2023 season in which he registered 639 runs from 14 games, including 6 fifties and 2 centuries.

Kohli is also the highest run-getter in the history of the IPL with 7162 runs under his belt.