It may come as a surprise to Finns that Indian cricket great Virat Kohli has the third most followers on social media of all sports superstars in the world.
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee confirmed at a meeting in Mumbai that cricket will return to the Olympics after a 128-year hiatus as one of five “new” sports in Los Angeles in 2028.
In addition, baseball and softball, flag ball, lacrosse and squash were given the go-ahead.
Director of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games Niccolo Campriani first of all, it was one of the world’s brightest athletes who had a big impact on the return of his sport to the Olympic stage. Cricket has been played in England since the 18th century.
– I am excited to welcome the world’s second most popular sport, which has an estimated 2.5 billion fans, to the Olympics, the head of the LA organizing committee solemnly began his speech.
Campriani emphasized that, with the IOC’s decision, the promotion of cricket growth is “real” in the United States. According to him Virat Kohli is one of the main reasons that cricket is seen in Los Angeles. Kohli is a brand in himself and gives his face to world cricket.
– Virat Kohli is the third most followed athlete in the world among all athletes on social media with 340 million followers. It’s more what the US stars LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods collect in total. This extreme victory for the Los Angeles Olympics, Campriani beamed.
Only football stars have more followers among athletes than Kohli Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messiwho have 608 million and 489 million followers on Instagram alone.
Virat Kohli has been one of the highest earning cricket stars. According to Kauppalehti, he earned up to 700,000 euros a day six years ago. Last year, the sponsorship income of the Indian star was 33.9 million dollars, and the salary earnings were 17.5 million dollars. Kohli’s net worth is estimated to be $127 million this year.
The 175-centimeter Kohli has played for 15 years in the Indian national cricket team and led his country to the 2011 World Cup. From his playing position, he is a batsman. At the age of 34, Kohli is still a great in the sport, even though he is no longer at the absolute peak of his sports career.
There are several game formats of cricket, but the T20 game format is seen at the Olympics, which lasts from 2.5 hours to about three hours, suitable for the TV format. In this case, the game is fast, full of action and, according to the organizers, also attracts a younger audience.
Cricket is a distant relative of baseball. It is a bat and ball sport where the team has 11 players on the field. There are two teams in the game, each with one inning and one out. The team captain makes strategic and tactical decisions as the game progresses.
The key features of the game are, among other things, the cricket ball serve, where the game tool is sent through the ground, i.e. through the bounce, towards the batsman. The fastest pitchers can hit the ball with a speed of 150–160 km/h.
A player who is in a hitting turn is allowed to hit as long as he returns. The game equipment may be hit in any direction on the oval field, including backwards. There are no illegal punches. The team with the most runs wins the match.