Dhoni - #1 in celebrity ranking

Do you claim to be the biggest fan of Sachin Tendulkar? Or Amitabh Bachchan? Or Shah Rukh Khan? If the answer to any of the above options is a "Yes'; don't read any further as that might just irritate you. Indian Cricket team's captain ' Mahendra Singh Dhoni ' has edged out the three seasoned celebrities to sit at the top of celebrity rankings.

A panel of experts believe that though Dhoni did fairly well in the first edition of IPL, it was probably his captaincy that helped him rank higher than the little master, Tendulkar. Hansa Research Group and Percept Talent Management worked together to come up with the report. Vineet Sodhani, Associate VP, Marketing, Hansa Research, said, "While team Chennai wasn't a finalist, Dhoni's captaincy was written about extensively in the media and appreciated by experts. This may have resulted in higher ratings for Dhoni, who moved up from No. 2 to the number one slot."

Another possible reason to affect Tendulkar's ranking was Mumbai Indian's inability to come to expectations of many while the long-standing tiff between film producers and multiplex owners is being seen as the primary reason for Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan falling down the order.

"The field research was conducted right after the IPL, which may have resulted in better ranking for cricketers, while the stand-off in Bollywood may have put a marginal dent in the rankings for Bollywood stars," said Manish Porwal, CEO, Percept Talent Management.

In the celebrity rankings, Dhoni was closely followed by Khan, two from the Bachchan family ' Amitabh and Aishwarya ' and Yuvraj Singh.

IPL was also the reason why certain players of foreign origin gained popularity and recognition. Matthew Hayden, for example was as high in recognition as players like Anil Kumble and Sunil Gavaskar while Glenn McGrath also faired well and was right up there with players like Sreesanth and Rohit Sharma.

It was however also seen and studied that while Tendulkar was pipped by younger cricketers like Dhoni and Yuvi in categories like general, health, hi-tech and cosmetics, he held high in categories such as finance and insurance ' sectors that live on attributes like trust and maturity.

Talking about the need of such a study, Porwal commented, "We're going beyond the gut feel to something more scientific. It's very easy to figure out who the top guy is and who the bottom guy is, but what about the middle? That's where the study can come handy and tell you exactly which celebrity will work best for you in a particular situation." He later added, "Eventually, we would also like to cover politicians. And that would be great! Lalu (Prasad, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief), for example, would be perfect for a brand that wants to have fun, but at the end of the day the celebrity has to be fit and willing for endorsements."