One of the greatest footballers of all time, Ronaldo Nazario, commonly known as “R9”, met with the famous YouTuber, Darren Jason Watkins Jr, who goes by the name “IShowSpeed” and the two shared some enjoyable moments.
Speed asked Ronaldo if he knew India’s Virat Kohli, who is one of the most famous cricketers of all time, to which the legendary footballer said he hadn’t heard of him as he is not “very popular” in Brazil.
However, after seeing Kohli’s picture, Ronaldo immediately recognised the right-handed batter.
Here’s how that conversation went:
Speed: “Do you know Virat Kohli?”
Ronaldo: “Who?”
Speed: “Virat Kohli, from India.”
Ronaldo: “No.”
Speed: “You don’t know Virat Kohli!”
Ronaldo: “What is he? A player?”
Speed: “He is a cricket player.”
Ronaldo: “He is not very popular in here.”
Speed: “Yeah, yeah. He is like the best. He’s better than Babar Azam. You have never seen this dude?” (pointing to Kohli’s photo)
Ronaldo: “Yeah, of course I have seen him.”
It indicates that Kohli may boast a substantial following on social media, but there are still certain regions where he isn't readily identifiable.
As per Statista, Kohli holds the 13th position among the most followed celebrities on Instagram, boasting a follower count of 265 million. While footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo (with 616 million followers) and Lionel Messi (with 496 million followers) effortlessly lead the list, Kohli stands out as the most followed Indian on the social media platform.
Kohli missed the first match of the three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan due to personal reasons yesterday. India won the match comfortably by six wickets.
Kohli is expected to feature in the second T20I which will be played at Holkar Stadium, Indore, on January 14.
- Virat Kohli