Rohit Sharma emerged as the most talked about player this World Cup: Report

Excited cricket fans set social media ablaze with posts and memes during the highly-anticipated India vs. Pakistan match at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Interactive Avenues, the digital arm of IPG Mediabrands India, released a comprehensive social media listening report around the intense match which ended in a crushing defeat for Pakistan. Based on extensive data gathered from social media platforms and popular cricket forums, the report deep dives into highlights of the social buzz before, during, and after the match.

Commenting on the report, Shantanu Sirohi, COO, of Interactive Avenues, said, "The India vs. Pakistan match was one of the most talked about matches in this year’s World Cup tournament. Using best-in-class social listening tools, our Social team compiled a comprehensive report that unlocks valuable insights around player popularity and public sentiments, while revealing the most memorable, controversial, and heartwarming moments of the match.”

Here are some key highlights from the report:

Most popular players of the match:

Powered by his electrifying performance, Rohit Sharma emerged as the most talked about player, with 674.3K mentions.
Virat Kohli and Babar Azam were neck-to-neck for the #2 spot on social media chatter. Virat finally won the battle with 62K more mentions.

Most talked about Indian and Pakistani players:

Among Indian players, Rohit Sharma was followed by Virat Kohli (364.8K), Jasprit Bumrah (129.3K), Mohammed Siraj (90.6K) and Shubman Gill (80.3K) on social media popularity charts.
The most talked about Pakistani player was Babar Azam (302.6K), followed by Mohammad Rizwan (121.8K), Haris Rauf (65.8K), Shaheen Afridi (43.9K) and Hasan Ali (42.4K).

Fans heap praise on Rohit Sharma:

Rohit Sharma drove 3.1 Mn engagement and received the most praise as an exceptional captain for field setting, bowling changes, the highest number of sixes, and more.
Fans appreciated his becoming the first Indian to complete 300 sixes in ODI cricket along with his ability to handle high-pressure situations.

Umpiring controversy:

Match umpire Marais Erasmus garnered 4.2K mentions and 10K engagements amidst fans’ accusations of not paying attention during the match and making biased decisions in favor of Pakistan.

Jersey exchange controversy:

Virat Kohli gifting Babar Azam with a signed jersey after the match won 14.4K mentions.
Wasim Akram slamming Babar Azam for the on-field jersey exchange got 3.4K mentions.

Sachin Tendulkar’s dig at Shoaib Akhtar:

Sachin Tendulkar savaged Shoaib Akhtar’s pre-match #ThandRakh message after India’s smashing 8-0 win, garnering 41.7K mentions.

Player’s heartwarming gestures win hearts:

Virat Kohli’s sign language communication with his wife Anushka Sharma garnered 11.4K mentions and 121K engagements.
Rohit Sharma’s ‘fingers crossed’ gesture to his wife Ritika Sajdeh drove 5.8K mentions and 58.1K engagements.

In total, the match generated a whopping 1.5 Mn mentions and 9.7 Mn engagements, with 78% of the social chatter from India, 9% from Pakistan, and 13% from other countries.