Ian Bishop compares Virat to Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, and Lebron James

Ian Bishop claimed Virat Kohli to be a global superstar like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in Football and Lebron James in basketball. The former West Indian pacer claimed that the Virat has an incredible fan following at the global level. Bishop said that the Indian cricketer has a similar fan following as compared to other global sporting superstars like Ronaldo, Messi, and Lebron. 

Speaking to Star Sports, Bishop said, "What LeBron James is to Basketball, what Ronaldo and Messi are to football, Virat Kohli is to cricket. Virat has a global fan following." Ahead of the clash between India and Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup 2023, Bishop said that Kohli enjoys an incredible fanbase. The social media followers count of Kohli upholds to claims of Bishop. 

Ronaldo and Messi are two of the most famous personalities in Football today. the two athletes enjoy an incredible fanbase, which is unmatched. The duo has fans in different corners of the world. The Argentine Messi and Portgual athlete Ronaldo get support in different parts of the world, wherever they play. These fans have helped their favourite athletes to elevate their careers in a big way. 

Big challenge for Virat Kohli in the upcoming days

Lebron James is a big name in Basketball. Particularly in the USA's biggest basketball league, the NBA, James is a superstar. Despite the sport not having that good a global reach like Football, Lebron still has many followers on social media and is followed by people from different parts of the world. Bishop compared Virat's popularity with the likes of these athletes. 

So far, Virat has been in good form in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. In 6 innings, Virat has 354 runs at a batting average of 88.50, at a batting strike rate of 88.50, including a hundred and 3 fifties. India will be playing teams like Sri Lanka and South Africa in their upcoming games, before taking on Netherlands and big teams in the semifinal stage of the tournament. The Indian batter will be hoping to bring his best in the upcoming games.