Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Kohli says it's 'surreal' to have 50M Instagram followers

VIRAT KOHLI, known for breaking sporting records, has become the first Indian to garner 50 million followers on Instagram.

The Indian cricket captain had 930 Instagram posts and two IGTV videos, and followed 148 people.


In video posted on Instagram, Kohli described the milestone as “quite surreal” and thanked his fans for their “love and support”.

Kohli is closely followed by actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas (49.9 million) and Deepika Padukone (44.1 million).

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been a sensation on social media, came eighth, with 34.4 million followers.

S. No.CelebrityFollowersFollowings
1Virat Kohli50.00 M148
2Priyanka Chopra Jonas49.88 M505
3Deepika Padukone44.0 M113
4Alia Bhatt43.0 M529
5Shraddha Kapoor40.3 M430
6Jacqueline Fernandez37.0 M850
7Akshay Kumar36.4 M5
8Narendra Modi34.4 M0
9Neha Kakkar32.6 M226
10Anushka Sharma32.5 M232

Globally, ace footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was the topper on Instagram, with more than 200 million followers. He’s trailed by musician Ariana Grande (175 million followers) and Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson (172 million).

Lauded as one of the finest batsmen today, Kohli, 31, is also India's most valued celebrity. Global advisory firm Duff and Phelps said Kohli topped the brand valuation list for the third year in a row, up by 39 per cent to £182.8 million last year.

Recent reports said Kohli charged about £146,150 per commercial post on Instagram.

Kohli is currently leading Team India in New Zealand where the two teams will face each other in a two-Test series beginning Friday. Last year, he had become the most successful Indian Test captain, surpassing MS Dhoni.

More For You

King Charles

King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less