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Kohli Killing It Off The Field Too - Team India Skipper Is The Only Cricketer In Forbes List Of Highest Paid Athletes

Virat Kohli is once again the only cricketer to feature in the Forbes 2019 list of the worlds highest-paid athletes. Lionel Messi is topping the list with 127 million USD for the first time ever. The 30-year-old has already staked his claim as one of the best batsmen of the generation.

Indiatimes Updated on Jun 12, 2019, 11:53 IST

Virat Kohli is once again the only cricketer to feature in the Forbes 2019 list of world's highest-paid athletes. The list came out on June 11 and he managed to take the the last spot. Lionel Messi is topping the list with 127 million USD for the first time ever.?

Kohli's earnings over the last one year is $25 million. The 30-year-old has already staked his claim as one of the best batsmen of the generation.

The Indian skipper has been one of the most consistent performers for his side in the past few years and has piled on runs at an incredible consistency. He recently became the first ever cricketer to clean sweep three major ICC awards - ICC Cricketer of the Year, ICC Test Cricketer of the Year and ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year after enjoying a stellar 2018 where he notched up 1202 runs in 14 ODIs at an incredible average of 133.55 - the most by any batsmen.?

AFP

In Tests as well, Kohli was the top run-getter in 2018 as he amassed 1322 runs in 13 matches at an average of 55.08. He also had a magnificent year as captain of the Indian team, leading the side to a historic Test series win in Australia before following it up with another remarkable victory in the ODI series against the Aussies. He also led the team to a memorable ODI series win over New Zealand, earlier this year.

He is the only cricketer in Forbes' list of highest-earning top 100 celebrities which feature some of the best athletes from across the globe. Messi is followed by eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo at the second spot with PSG ace Neymar taking the third spot. Star boxer Canelo Alvarez is 4th with earnings of $94 million to his name and is followed by tennis great Roger Federer on the 5th spot. NBA stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durrant are on the 8th, 9th and the 10th spot respectively.