IPL victory sends Kohli's social stocks soaring, Iyer shines too
As fireworks lit up the skies and chants of 'RCB! RCB!' echoed across Indian, one man's name was on everyone's lips — Virat Kohli. Already the most followed Indian on Instagram, Kohli's social media presence reached new heights after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally broke their 18-year title drought to lift the IPL trophy on Tuesday night.The long-awaited win didn't just ignite celebrations in stadiums and living rooms — it sent Kohli's digital popularity into overdrive.advertisementFollowing RCB's win over Punjab Kings, Kohli gained 4.4 lakh new followers on Instagram and over 13,000 on Facebook in just two days, according to social media analytics firm Social Blade.
Kohli's follower growth on Instagram has seen a dramatic rise this year. In April alone, he gained 2.95 lakh followers. That number jumped to over 15.75 lakh in May, following the team's impressive playoff run and final victory. Notably, Kohli had lost over 4 lakh followers in January, making this surge even more remarkable.With this growth, Kohli now ranks 16th globally in terms of Instagram followers, just behind the official National Geographic account. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Selena Gomez continue to occupy the top three spots on the platform. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ranks 39th, with 95.8 million followers.
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Kohli was among the most discussed personalities and events on social media platform X throughout Wednesday. His popularity was reflected in the numbers on X, where over 5 lakh posts mentioned 'Virat Kohli', while the hashtag #ViratKohli garnered more than 3 lakh posts over the past week. Kohli has been trending continuously on the platform for over 15 hours.RCB, the franchise Kohli has represented since the inaugural season in 2008, was also widely celebrated online. The team's thrilling 6-run victory and long-awaited title win generated over 17 lakh posts on X, underscoring the emotional outpouring from fans who had seen the team fall short in previous finals.The stunning match at the IPL 2025 finals also boosted the social media presence of other players. Shreyas Iyer, captain of the runner-up Punjab Kings, saw a surge of over 7 lakh followers in the last three days. His valiant 87-run knock against Mumbai in the semi-final earned widespread praise and sparked discussion about his form and potential role in the Indian team.
Another standout performer was the Punjab Kings batsman Shashank Singh, who smashed three sixes in the final over against RCB. His effort drew appreciation across platforms, with over 40,000 posts on X lauding his performance. He too, witnessed a sharp increase in followers, gaining 92,000 on Instagram in just three days.
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Time of India
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The Print
22 minutes ago
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He was at court for a case in Kanakapura when he learned the Royal Challengers team was arriving in Bengaluru. To welcome them, the CM and his team had planned a grand reception at the steps of Vidhana Soudha. Learning this, D.K. Shivakumar rushed straight from court to HAL airport holding the RCB flag,' Kumaraswamy explained. He added that the RCB celebration was nothing but a PR stunt gone wrong for the government. 'Dayananda had efficiently handled security for New Year celebrations and multiple cricket matches. Even when lakhs gathered on MG Road and Brigade Road, he ensured nothing untoward happened. Now they've suspended such an officer! What message are they sending?' he asked. Bengaluru South MP, Tejasvi Surya too posted on X asking why law enforcement authorities were being selective in their probe of the tragedy. 'Why is Bangalore Police applying the law selectively? If RCB is being probed over social media posts, why aren't CM Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar being summoned?' he asked in his post. Why is Bangalore Police applying the law selectively? If RCB is being probed over social media posts, why aren't CM Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar being summoned? They were equally involved and officially participated in the felicitation events at both Vidhana Soudha and… — Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) June 6, 2025 In 2017, during Siddaramaiah's first term as the chief minister, the Income Tax department had allegedly unearthed a diary from Govindraj's home with details of money, earned from kickbacks to senior Congress leaders. In February 2017, BJP's B.S. Yediyurappa alleged that Siddaramaiah received a kickback of Rs 150 crore for sanctioning the controversial Rs 1,791 crore steel flyover in Bengaluru. Of this amount, Rs 65 crore was paid to the party high command, Yediyurappa had claimed. It was alleged that Govindraj's diary had initials like RG, SG and others which the BJP said was meant to denote the Congress high command. Eleven people, including a 14-year-old girl, died and 47 were injured in the stampede Wednesday afternoon which occurred when lakhs of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of players from the Royal Challengers Bangalore after they won the Indian Premier League. But the celebrations, which were meant to be for special invitees only, turned tragic when a huge crowd gathered outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium and tried to climb trees and barricades to enter the stadium, triggering a stampede. On Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the decision to immediately suspend Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, Assistant Commissioner of Police C. Balakrishna, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Division) Shekhar Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash and Circle Police Inspector of Cubbon Park Police station 'It is found that there has been, on the face of it, substantial dereliction of duty by these officers,' the suspension order said. After the suspensions, the opposition BJP and the JDS accused the chief minister of using police officers as scapegoats to deflect responsibility from the government. Siddaramaiah, however, accused the opposition of playing politics over the issue. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also Read: Bengaluru stampede tragedy: What science tells us about crowd control
