IPL 2020: MS Dhoni still the most popular celebrity endorser

His own batting form and the performance of his team – Chennai Super Kings notwithstanding, Mahendra Singh Dhoni continues to fly high as he always used to off the cricket field. He is estimated to have earned between INR.120-150 crore this IPL only from brand endorsements, as per a report in the Financial Express.

Even after announcing his retirement from international cricket, Dhoni remains the hotshot for many brands in the country. He is known to have endorsed around 16 brands including the likes of Dream11, Khatabook, PokerStars etc. during the current IPL season.

A recent report by TAM Media Research reveals that Dhoni has emerged as the top celebrity endorser during the first 25 matches of this IPL. He is closely followed by Bollywood stars Aamir Khan and Alia Bhatt. Dhoni along with Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan are the only celebrities to have made it to the Top 5 celebrities during the previous season as well as this season of IPL.

Feel fortunate to have played for such a long time without many injuries - @msdhoni on playing his 200th IPL game.#Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/a9OIcXlocQ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 19, 2020

A survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) says that the former India captain also tops the celebrity list in terms of recall value with a CELEBAR score of 82. Virat Kohli came in a close second with a score of 69 in this survey. According to this survey, it was Dhoni’s association with the fantasy platform Dream11 which helped him in being at the top of this list as around 79% recalled him as the Dream11 endorser.

According to experts, a lot of factors including the price, availability of the players, reluctance to endorse certain products etc. are taken into consideration while choosing an endorser by any brand. Dhoni is said to be charging the brands INR.4-6 crore per day, which is about 25-30% cheaper than Virat Kohli.

Regardless of CSK and his own performances on the pitch, the brand value of Mahendra Singh Dhoni continues to soar high.