Virat Kohli global star: WATCH NFL legend Tom Brady correctly predicts India icon's insane Instagram popularity
Virat Kohli global star: WATCH NFL legend Tom Brady correctly predicts India icon’s insane Instagram popularity originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- NFL legend Tom Brady surprised the football panel by naming India‘s Virat Kohli as one of the most followed athletes on Instagram.
- The moment came during ITV7 Football’s quiz segment on Stick to Football, featuring Brady alongside Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright.
- Virat Kohli has over 273 million followers on Instagram, making him the most followed personalities in the world.
WATCH: Tom Brady correctly guesses Virat Kohli’s Instagram stardom
Indian cricket sensation Virat Kohli earned himself an impromptu endorsement of his global fan base through an appearance on ITV7 Football’s quiz on Stick to Football, where he was mentioned by none other than NFL legend Tom Brady.
Brady made an appearance as a special guest along with the usual panel of Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright on the show, which asked the panel to guess the most-followed athletes on Instagram.
What caught everyone’s eye was the instant realisation by Brady of Kohli because of the comparatively small popularity of cricket in the US, indicating Kohli’s influence outside the realm of cricket as one of the most recognisable sports personalities in the world.
“Oh, Virat Kohli, the cricketer from India,” Brady caught the entire panel by surprise, nonetheless he couldn’t himself but notice the gap between Lionel Messi and Kohli on the leaderboard.
They don’t call him the GOAT for nothing… 🐐
Tom Brady absolutely smashed @itv7football‘s quiz! 💪 pic.twitter.com/0njV3t1q7P
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) June 22, 2026
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Does Tom Brady make the top seven most-followed athletes on Instagram?
While the panel were unanimously agreeing amongst themselves that Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi should occupy the top two spots, Neville suggested that American sports personalities could be in there, prompting Keane to look for Wright’s reaction as he pointed towards Brady.
“Tom Brady Brady not on there?,” asked Wright as Neville questioned Brady how many followers he has on Instagram. Failed to appear perplexed Brady confirmed, “Fifteen million,” while flawlessly picking American basketball player LeBron James to be up there.
The Instagram leaderboard
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 666m
- Lionel Messi – 508m
- Virat Kohli – 273m
- Neymar Jr. – 236m
- LeBron James – 154m
- Kylian Mbappe – 130m
- David Beckham – 87m
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Why Virat Kohli’s Instagram following is so remarkable
The level of Kohli’s social media following makes him one of the biggest sports stars in the world. He is the highest followed cricketer in the world and also the most followed Indian celebrity on Instagram with more than 273 million followers.
Kohli has gained so much global following due to his varied posts ranging from cricket-related matters to fitness tips and commercial partnerships, and Brady was right in pointing out that Kohli is one of the few cricketers who can be described as a global star.
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