Virat Kohli overtakes MS Dhoni as India’s highest-earning sportsperson

India cricket captain Virat Kohli has surpassed his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni to become the highest-earning sportsperson in India.

Kohli is also second on the list of Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list. The Delhi man is behind Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who earned a total of Rs 253.25 crore this year.

According to Forbes India’s list of top 100 sports stars in the country, Kohli earned a whopping of Rs 228.09 crore in 2018 – over a 100 crore more than what Dhoni did in the same year. The 37-year-old former India skipper has pocketed Rs 101.77 crore.

Kohli’s top performances on the field has had a clear impact on his earnings this year. While his total earnings in 2017 was Rs 100.72 crore, Kohli has accumulated more than double this year.

Kohli, who is the current holder of the ICC World Cricketer of the Year award, is the most followed cricketer of this generation and endorses a plethora of big brands, including Tissot, Audi, Puma, Uber, among others.

Behind Kohli and Dhoni is Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar with a total earnings of Rs 80 crore.

Badminton star and Rio Olympics Silver medallist PV Sindhu is fourth on the list with a total earning of 36.5 crore, followed by India batsman Rohit Sharma on the fifth spot with a total earning of Rs 31.49 crore.

Hardik Pandya (Rs 28.46 crore), R Ashwin (Rs 18.9 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs 17.26 crore), Suresh Raina (Rs 16.96 crore) and Saina Nehwal (Rs 16.54 crore) complete the top 10 list.