MS Dhoni might be in the twilight of his stellar cricket career but his fan following hasn’t down a bit. In fact, according to the latest survey Dhoni is the third most influential personality in India and at No.1 among the sportsperson.

The YouGov Influencer Index 2018, which covered consumer perceptions of around 60 top Bollywood celebrities and sports personalities, released the list on Tuesday (November 20) as per which Bollywood mega-star Amitabh Bachchan is the most influential Indian followed by actress Deepika Padukone on second spot.

Dhoni and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar are at the third and fourth spot respectively while India’s current cricket skipper Virat Kohli is placed at No. 6. Akshay Kumar is at fifth whereas his contemporaries Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan occupied the seventh and eighth position respectively. Bollywood divas Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra secured the last two spots in the top 10 list.

The ranking is based on data collected online by YouGov among close to 1,948 respondents in India this month using its panel of over 6 million people worldwide. The study also measures their awareness, likability, trustworthiness and influence in the following categories- health, wellness and beauty/ personal care, technology/ automotive, fashion, apparel and accessories, food, drink and travel and financial services.

Dhoni is currently resting after being left out from the T20I squad of Australia series. He will join the team for the three-match ODI series in Down Under, slated to start on Saturday (January 12).

(With PTI inputs)