Virat Kohli is currently enjoying a break from cricket. He was last seen in action in an ODI series against Sri Lanka. He is expected to play a big part when India take on Bangladesh in a two-Test series starting on September 19. Though, he is away from the game, Kohli continues to make the headline. According to a report in Fortune India, Virat Kohli paid Rs 66 crore tax in the financial year 2023-24 – the highest among sportspersons. MS Dhoni (Rs 38 crore) and Sachin Tendulkar (Rs 28 crore) take the next two spots. 

Sourav Ganguly (Rs 23 crore) and Hardik Pandya (Rs 13 crore) are also among the top five, according to the report. The list only shows celebrity taxpayers. Actor Thalapathy Vijay tops the over all list after paying Rs 80 crore tax. 

One of the finest batters of his generation, Virat Kohli wasn’t always the sort of batter he is at present. Born in Delhi, Virat had a sort of flamboyance to his game when he first started playing but has gradually emerged as a more mature player who knows how to pace his game, depending upon the situation he is batting in. Those who played with him during the early days, see the sort of difference Kohli has brought about in his game. One such cricketer is Harbhajan Singh who was an established name in the Indian team when Virat played his first few games.

“I remember this one incident. Viru [Virender Sehwag] had gotten injured I supposed. [Ajantha] Mendis was getting everyone out. He comes in; young guy, free energy. He batted and scored a fifty. He asked me ‘Paaji, how did I play? I said, ‘Very well’. He then said ‘Paaji, I shouldn’t have gotten out, should have smacked him more’. Loved the attitude,” Harbhajan said about Kohli during a chat on Taruwar Kohli‘s podcast.

While Kohli has gone on to break some of the biggest records in the game, his journey hasn’t been all smooth. Harbhajan revealed that even Kohli had doubts about his career after a few unsuccessful outings, and had to be given course correction by the Turbonator.

“If I tell you something about his Test cricket, at the very beginning. We were in West Indies. On that tour, Fidel Edwards (former West Indies quick) had troubled him a lot, getting him out either LBW or against the short ball. He was getting out time and again, so obviously was very disappointed. He had self-doubt, and questioned ‘If I am good enough?’ I told him ‘You will shame yourself if you don’t score 10000 runs. You have the capability of scoring 10000 runs in Test cricket. And if you don’t, it’ll be because of your own fault’. After that, what Kohli has done is a once-in-a-lifetime exception,” said Bhajji.

File image of Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic© Instagram

File photo of Rohit Sharma© X (Twitter)

The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was marred by a controversy surrounding the captaincy change for Mumbai Indians (MI). The five-time champions made a big call heading into IPL 2024, replacing long-serving skipper Rohit Sharma by Hardik Pandya, with the franchise bringing him back from Gujarat Titans (GT) as part of an all-cash deal. This led to speculation of a rift between Rohit and Hardik. 

Amid rumours, Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma made big contributions in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win. They were even seen hugging each other after the final, putting to rest speculation that all was not well between them. Veteran journalist Vimal Kumar has now given an interesting insight on the equation between Rohit and Hardik during the T20 World Cup.

During a recent interaction, Vimal Kumar revealed that the two didn’t speak to each other on the first day of practice. However, Rohit and Hardik had a heart-to-heart conversation on the second day, he added.

“When I went to the nets, on the first day I saw they were standing far apart and did not talk to each other. But by the second day, I saw them come over, one after the other, and sit together in a corner, talking for a long time. That moment for me defined this team. There was no camera there; nothing. The way Rohit and Hardik were talking, I was like ‘what am I watching?’,” Vimal Kumar said on 2 Sloggers’ YouTube channel.

The journalist also suggested that the chat between Rohit and Hardik, where the two sorted out their differences, played a key role in calming the atmosphere in the dressing room.

“There is so much going on in India with the public talking about their differences. After that, for the next three days, Rohit and Hardik would bat parallelly. And then Rohit would point out about his batting, bowling. When I saw that atmosphere and thought if they addressed such a complex issue, the elephant in the room. That vibe I saw demonstrated how relaxed the team atmosphere was,” he added.

Mr Vimal, however, gave the credit to the then India head coach Rahul Dravid for handling such a volatile situation.

“The full credit goes to Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma for this. The way he handled the big guys – Virat, Hardik, Rohit – I think Rahul Dravid has a lot to do with it. Everyone gelled together. That was the leadership I had confidence in,” Vimal further suggested.

For the unversed, India won the T20 World Cup after beating South Africa in the final, which was Dravid’s last game as head coach of the Indian team.

After the final, the likes of Rohit, Virat and Ravindra Jadeja also announced their T20 retirements.

File photo of KL Rahul© X (formerly Twitter)

Neeraj Chopra continues to rise. He is now a household name, boasting a gold and a silver medal in his Olympics career, giving him the best medal cabinet for an Indian athlete competing in individual events. Chopra’s meteoric rise is set to continue in 2024 and beyond, despite missing out on gold in Paris 2024. In fact, Neeraj Chopra’s brand endorsements portfolio is set to grow by 50% in the ongoing calendar year, as per a report by Moneycontrol.

Star Indian cricketers Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma expectedly lead the way in terms of sportspersons in India with the highest brand value. However, Neeraj, who already rubs shoulders in that regard with some of the high-profile cricketers, is set to exceed some more.

Neeraj presently endorses 21 brands across 24 different categories, according to the Moneycontrol report, which adds that Hardik Pandya has a portfolio of 20 brands.

The report says Chopra endorsement portfolio may reach 32-34 names by the 2024-end, more than several top cricketers.  

“Currently, we are talking to about six to eight brands to discuss endorsement,” said Divyanshu Singh, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of JSW Sports, the company that manages Chopra’s portfolio.

“We are seeing a jump in his brand value by close to 40 to 50 percent but he’s already got a very, strong foundation, which will only get better from here. His endorsement fee has seen a 40 to 50 percent jump. Until about last year, he was doing all his endorsements at about Rs 3 crore per year. Now that number would touch about Rs 4 to 4.5 crore per year, and that’s the kind of growth we are seeing,” Singh said.

Neeraj currently endorses brands like American sportswear company Under Armour, luxury watchmaker Omega, Gillette and Samsung among others.

Apart from Neeraj, badminton star PV Sindhu and recently retired football icon Sunil Chhetri rank in the upper echelons of Indian sportspersons who have a high brand value, but are not cricketers.

Neeraj was one of the favourites for a gold medal in javelin throw at the Paris Olympics 2024, having won gold in Tokyo 2020. However, Chopra’s 89.45m throw – although the second-best of his career – was only good enough for silver, as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem threw an Olympic record 92.97m to clinch gold.

Former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour heaped praises on T20 World Cup-winning Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, calling him a “shrewd tactician” and opened on his move to end Jasprit Bumrah‘s overs early during the T20 WC title clash against South Africa. Rathour, who had a stint with Men in Blue as a batting coach from 2021-24, during which India finished as runners-up in two ICC World Test Championships, runners-up in the ICC Cricket World Cup held at home last year and finally the T20 champions after beating Proteas this year, was speaking on “Find a Way with Taruwar Kohli“, a podcast by former U19 World Cup winning cricketer Taruwar.

Speaking on the podcast, Vikram said that Rohit could forget about his decisions after winning the toss or his valuables during a trip, but he never forgets his game plan.

“He might forget whether he has decided to bat or bowl at the toss, or his phone and iPad in the team bus but he never forgets his gameplan. He is very good at it and is a very shrewd tactician,” Rathour said.

The former batting coach called Rohit a “player’s captain” and lauded him for investing so much time and energy in team meetings and strategies.

“He is a player’s captain. He is invested with the players. I have never seen a captain, who is so invested in team meetings and strategies. He spends a lot of time on the team’s strategy. He is part of the bowlers’ meeting, batters’ meeting. He wants to sit with the bowlers and batters to try and understand what they are thinking. He invests a lot of time with the players,” Rathour said.

Speaking about ending Bumrah’s four-over spell by the 18th over during the title clash, Vikram said that giving the ball early to Bumrah helped choke Proteas’ run flow when they seemed to be in a dominant position, needing 30 runs from 30 balls while chasing 177. The final two overs went to Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, who were left with 20 runs to defend. Arshdeep and Hardik did the job successfully, winning the game for India by seven runs.

“He (Rohit) is tactically very good as a captain. In the T20 World Cup final, he finished Bumrah’s over early. A lot of people must have questioned that decision but that decision put us in the situation, where 16 was needed in the last over. His tactical decisions on the field are spot on. Sitting outside, it surprises you as a coach as well. We from outside sometimes think what he is doing but then you realise what he has done after a while,” Rahtour concluded.

India ended their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought as Virat Kohli (76), Axar Patel (47), Hardik Pandya (3/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) starred in Men in Blue’s seven-run win over South Africa in the final at Barbados on June 29. Virat’s masterclass knock helped India reach 176/7 in 20 overs, while Bumrah and Pandya unleashed a pace choke on Proteas, snatching the match from a losing position to restrict Proteas to 169/8 in their 20 overs.

File image of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah© Twitter

India vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I LIVE Streaming: When and where to watch© AFP