MS Dhoni, the former Team India skipper and an honorary lieutenant colonel of the Indian Army, is the second most admired man in India behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm called YouGov surveyed in 41 countries of 42,000 people to compile a list of most admired celebrities across the world.
And according to the stats from India, PM Modi came out on top in the male category whereas boxer Mary Kom led the way in the female one.
On the world charts, Bill Gates and Michelle Obama found the top spot according to the survey.
Amidst sportspersons, Dhoni bagged an admiration score of 8.58%, only second behind the PM Modi who leads the table with a score of 15.66%.
Following Dhoni in the list of sportsmen are Sachin Tendulkar (5.81%), Virat Kohli (4.46%), Cristiano Ronaldo (2.95%), Lionel Messi (2.32%).
In the women’s category, Mary Kom (10.36%) is the only sportswoman in the top 25, with the likes of Kiran Bedi (9.46%), Lata Mangeshkar (9.23%), Sushma Swaraj (7.13%), Deepika Padukone (6.35%) following her in the top 5.
Most admired men and women in India:
