Virat Kohli Becomes the First Indian Celebrity to Reach 50 Million Followers on Instagram

Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian cricket team, has set a new record. But this one isn't on a cricket ground. The popular Indian cricketer has become the first Indian to reach 50 million followers on Instagram. As of today, Virat Kohli has exactly 50 million followers while Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas is close with 49.9 million followers on Instagram. Virat Kohli is known for posting personal as well as sponsored content on the Facebook-owned social platform. He is currently heading the Indian cricket team in New Zealand.

Last year, Virat Kohli was reportedly charging $196,000 (roughly Rs. 1.35 crores) for each sponsored post on Instagram. Kohli was on the 23rd spot on a list of popular celebrities on Instagram. The list also revealed approximate fees each celebrity charges for a sponsored story on the Facebook-owned social platform.

Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra Jonas charges $271,000 (roughly Rs. 1.87 crores) for a sponsored story on Instagram, according to the 2019 Instagram Rich List. These numbers could be much higher now, considering the number of followers these celebrities have added over the last year. The figures were attributed to internal data, agency rate cards, and public information.

As for being active on Instagram, Virat Kohli has around 930 posts on Instagram and he currently follows 148 other people.

But not all is green. According to a report from last year, around 16 million followers of influencers on Instagram seem to be fake accounts. A data analytics firm assessed a little less than 2 million Instagram accounts across several countries and found three regions with the maximum number of fake accounts which included the US, Brazil, and India.

Virat Kohli is currently in New Zealand with the rest of the Indian cricket team. The team has played T20I and One-Day International cricket matches against New Zealand so far and is gearing up for a test-match series, set to begin soon.