Not Virat Kohli but THIS legendry cricketer was the first one to sign Rs 100 crore deal

Why you're reading this: The Indian cricket team players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma have a lot of fan following all over the world. These players are known for their marvelous playing style and also for the records they have made on the field. However, these players are also engaged in various brand endorsements whose worth is in tens of crores. 

3 things you need to know

• Virat Kohli is BCCI's A-grade cricketer and earns INR 7 crore yearly as part of the match fees
• Apart from the BCCI, Virat Kohli is also engaged in various brand endorsements and also earns crores of money
• MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are also among the top listed Indian cricketer and have a huge brand value

Which Indian cricketer was the first to sign a Rs 100 crore brand deal?

Indian cricket team batsman Virat Kohli currently has a net worth of over 1000 crore and is also the richest cricketer in the world. Virat has a Rs 110 crore deal with sports brand Puma. However, he is not the first Indian cricketer to sign a 100-crore brand. Neither is former captain MS Dhoni nor current skipper Rohit Sharma. 

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India legend Sachin Tendulkar was the first Indian cricketer to sign a Rs 100 crore deal in the year 2001. Sachin was the one who opened the gate for the Indian cricketers to become big stars and also has a massive brand value. Tendulkar had signed a deal with a sports management company led by Mark Mascarenhas WorldTel. This deal proved to be path-breaking for the Indian cricket team as it opened the global endorsement gates for the Indian players.

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However, the deal didn't make many headlines back then but did change the future of brand endorsements in Indian cricket forever. 

IPL increased the brand value of cricketers 

The Indian Premier League has also played a major role in the increase of the brand value of Indian cricketers. The cash-rich league has turned many unknown players into stars due to which they got the chance to play for the Indian team and further got the chance to endorse many known brands of the world.