India's Top #8 Sports Stars Who Will Bowl You Over on Twitter A cricket bat with the signature of Sachin or Dhoni is a million-dollar possession of a cricket fan and a cause of envy for his friends and foes

It goes without saying that Indian sports stars enjoy a humongous fan following in the country, considering the powerful spell they cast on the people.

From aping their hair styles and bearded looks to donning their jerseys, some youngsters even swear by the names of their sports heroes. A cricket bat with the signature of Sachin or Dhoni is a million-dollar possession of a cricket fan and a cause of envy for his friends and foes.

Crowd of admirers follows their stars wherever they go. They cheer their heroes to victory on the field at international championships and even give a roaring tribute when players are awarded.

A movie is an instant hit if it is based on the inspirational life journey of a sports personality.

Till a few years ago, reaching out to a sports star was an impossible task, daunting to say the least. Fans considered it a God-send opportunity to be able to catch a glimpse of their heroes or to get clicked with them or to get their autographs. Greater Internet penetration coupled with the emergence of social media have brought the stars so much within the public reach that they appear just a click away.

These days you don't have to stay hooked to a TV set to catch live updates of a match as you get to know updated scores on social media sites. Even ESPN feeds ball-by-ball account of a match to Twitter and other social media sites for the deprived lot, who are always caught in their tight daily schedules and have not a moment to spare for a match.

Entrepreneur India presents a list of #10 sports influencers, who are not just top scorers with respect to the list of followers they can boast of on Twitter but are proactive in keeping their fans abreast of latest sports news and developments.

Virendra Sehwag

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, also known as the "Nawab of Najafgarh', said goodbye to cricket a couple of years ago. But his second innings on Twitter has been great so far. Sehwag is effortlessly witty and spins his statements well within the stipulated 140 characters to tickle your funny bone.

Sehwag has always won over his fans on Twitter. His two-line resume to BCCI on Twitter while applying for the post of coach of Indian cricket team became a talking point and met with hordes of likes and re-tweets. Sehwag is highly active on Twitter and regularly updates his followers about any and every important sports news.

Mithali Raj

The captain cool of women's Indian cricket team, Mithali Raj, is the first captain to led India to two World Cup finals — once in 2005 and again in 2017. Though Raj and her team lost the 2017 World Cup finals to England by a few runs, but the loss didn't come in the way of their winning millions of hearts. Raj's influence on social media cannot be undermined.

Virat Kohli

Captain of men's Indian cricket team Virat Kohli is the second-most followed Indian player on Facebook. He has a significant influence on his fans when it comes to sports and fitness.

He plays with his right hand and is often regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world. Kohli was ranked eighth in ESPN's list of world's most famous athletes in 2016. He also plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Not many know, but the star cricketer also has an entrepreneurial venture.

Leander Paes

India's ace tennis player Leander Paes features in the list of top 100 influential tennis players in the world, according to Rise Reports. Paes became the seventh male player in Open Era to accomplish 700 match wins in Men's Doubles.

Harsha Bhogle

Famous Indian cricket commentator and an MBA-turned-journalist Harsha Bhogle's in-depth love for cricket pushed him to learn journalism, take up the pen and write about it. He then went on to become cricket commentator. Bhogle is still pursuing his career as a commentator with great accomplishment. Bhogle, along with his wife Anita, runs a sports-based communication consultancy called Prosearch.

Narain Kathikeyan

Narain Karthikeyan became India's first Formula-1 driver to race with Jordan in 2005. The undaunted spirit of Karthikeyan has won him various accolades from championships across the world. Karthikeyan is among the top 100 F1 drivers in world. He made a surprise comeback with Honda-powered Dandelion Racing in 2015, after recovering from a major accident in 2014. His positive quotes on Twitter motivate all of us to never give up and keep moving in the life's race.

Sania Mirza

Tennis player Sania Mirza was formerly ranked No. 1 in the women's doubles ranking in the world. Mirza has established herself as the most successful female Indian tennis player ever and one of the highest-paid athletes in the country. As much as she is as much active on Twitter as she is on tennis field. Mirza has a huge fan club on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Sachin Tendulkar

Rightly called the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendular is also the God of all cricket lovers. His fan club understands no boundaries and is spread across the globe. Recently Tendulkar joined the professional networking website, LinkedIn, and instantly became one of greatest influencers. In fact, he is also the first cricketer in the world to join the league of over 500 global influencers on professional networking site.