Shubman Gill is the world's 13th most marketable athlete, ahead of Messi and Ronaldo — but what the list actually measures

A new list of the world's most marketable athletes has put Indian cricket back in the headlines — and in an unusual position. In the Sportspro and NorthStar Solutions Group '50 Most Marketable Athletes 2026', Shubman Gill is ranked 13th. That is not only the highest placement of any cricketer in the top 50; it also means Cristiano Ronaldo (14th), Kylian Mbappe (19th) and Lionel Messi (27th) finished behind him. For Indian fans it is an exciting moment, but the correct way to read the list lies in its methodology. This is not a ranking of on-field performance. It is a ranking of present-day brand appeal and the pace at which that appeal is growing. On the raw numbers, Gill sits 13th while Portugal's Ronaldo is 14th, France's Mbappe 19th and Argentina's Messi 27th. That order sounds startling, and that is precisely the story's appeal. A young Indian batter placed ahead of two names who have sat at the summit of global football for two decades is a headline in itself. But the question is whether this means Gill's global recognition has surpassed Messi and Ronaldo's. The answer is found in the method, and it is a clear no. The list's scope is wide. It is Sportspro's 17th annual edition and the assessment window runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2026 — a forward-looking current commercial cycle rather than a retrospective of a completed season. This year 1,202 athletes from 70 sports entered the initial pool, 247 were shortlisted, and a final order of 50 was produced. Even after that cull, the question remains: on what basis were the points allotted? The answer lies in a 100-point construct: 45 points for Brand Equity, 40 for Momentum and 15 for Commercial Trajectory. On top of this, 27 indicators were used, several hundred data points were gathered per athlete, and deals with more than 3,000 brands were folded into the dataset. The indicators include social media followers, viewership, search trends, sentiment and partnerships. This is a constructed index, not an absolute measurement. Now note that Momentum carries 40 points — that is, it measures how quickly an athlete's commercial popularity is growing. Brand Equity, meaning established market value, carries 45. A methodology like this will naturally elevate rising stars in large markets and push down global icons whose brand equity is already close to its ceiling. Messi and Ronaldo have very little growth headroom left; Gill operates in the world's largest cricket market and his curve is rising. That is why the headline claim — that Gill's commercial appeal is greater than Messi's or Ronaldo's — is actually an artefact of a growth-weighted mechanism, not proof that Gill is an absolutely larger commercial property than either of them. Ronaldo and Messi are names at the summit of global brand equity; their followers, endorsement rates and worldwide recognition cannot be compared through this ranking at all, because the ranking was not built on that scale. In the Indian context the list becomes more interesting still. Five Indians make the top 50, which is a bigger story than any single cricketer's placing. Beyond that, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, long retired from international cricket, is 83rd, Virat Kohli 85th and Rohit Sharma 90th. Note that these are positions outside the top 50 — but remaining inside the top 100 is itself a signal. Established Indian brands decay slowly, and that naturally caps how far ahead a rising star can genuinely pull. It is impossible to understand Gill's high placing without accounting for India's market size. The world's largest cricket market, enormous broadcast rights, the biggest viewing audiences and social media engagement combine to give any Indian cricketer a disproportionate advantage in the global marketplace. Strip out market size and the comparison with Messi and Ronaldo looks very different. At number one on the list is Aryna Sabalenka, whose 2026 earnings are put at $30 million and who holds deals with Nike, Wilson, Gucci, Emirates, Audemars Piguet, Hup and Stella Artois. That figure hints at the scale of top-tier endorsement money — and it is worth remembering that this list is not ordering anyone by that scale. One point is contained within the story itself and should not be buried: popularity and commercial appeal may not be the same thing. That caveat sits beneath the headline, whereas it is actually the key to reading the ranking. A ranking is a dated snapshot, not a permanent truth. It should also be clear that no cricketing conclusion can be drawn about Gill from this list. The article describes him as India's Test and ODI captain, but supplies no batting average, strike rate, recent form or any other performance data. The numbers given are commercial — 13th place, highest-placed cricketer, one of five Indians in the top 50. Those numbers cannot establish that he is a better batter than Kohli or Rohit; they establish only that his market appeal is currently greater. The biggest risk attached to this ranking is its volatility. Because Momentum alone is 40 per cent of the score, if Gill's growth rate normalises his position could fall sharply in the next edition — without any decline in his actual popularity. And since per-athlete point totals are not published, readers cannot even verify the margin between 13th and 14th. In the broad picture, this reflects the commercial weight of Indian cricket. Five Indians in the top 50, and even a retired Dhoni still inside the top 100, show how deep India's commercial pipeline runs. That depth is structural; it is not the miracle of one player's ability. The conclusion is straightforward: Gill's 13th place is a real, recorded achievement and should not be diminished — the highest placement of any cricketer in the top 50 does not come easily. But reading it as 'a bigger star than Messi and Ronaldo' is wrong. The list says his market curve is climbing fastest right now; it does not say he has become the world's biggest sporting brand. Read the methodology, not the headline.