India skipper Virat Kohli is the most popular cricketer in the world. As per the SEMrush study, Virat was searched online an average of 16.2 lakh per month from January to June this year while the Indian cricket team was searched an average of 2.4 lakh times per month in the same time period.

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Other cricketers among the top-10, as per the study, were Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, George Mackay, Josh Richards, Hardik Pandya, Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Matthews and Shreyas Iyer. From January to June 2020, each cricketer, respectively, was searched an average of 9.7, 9.4, 9.1, 7.1, 6.7, 5.4, 4.1, and 3.4 lakh times.

With respect to the cricket teams, India led the chart followed by England, Australia, West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe. Each cricket team, respectively, was searched .66, .33, .29, .23, .16, .12, .12, .09, .05, .04, and .03 lakh times per month.

In addition, cricket followers across the globe were captivated by women cricketers as well. Despite not being in the top-10, Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry were searched 12th and 20th most times, topping big names like Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan.

"While we are not entirely surprised by the results of our study, we are excited nonetheless. Finding that Virat Kohli is the most searched cricketer, and India, the most searched cricket team is unsurprising, what's surprising is that women cricketers are being searched more often than a lot of top-rated men," Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications, SEMrush SEMrush said.

"Our study suggests that stereotypes of cricket as a man only sport no longer hold. There is considerable enthusiasm about women cricketers and women playing cricket. In the future, there are likely to be many more women playing cricket, and India, as the most important cricket playing nation is likely to supply many of them," he added.

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*Edited from an IANS report