Google’s Year in Search: No Kohli, Rohit, Messi or Ronaldo in top 10 searched athletes, but one India cricketer makes cut

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are arguably the greatest footballers the world has ever seen, were both missing from the top 10 despite them making much hyped moves and Messi winning his 8th Ballon d'Or title.

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were missing from the list of top 10 most searched athletes on Google in 2023. (PHOTOS: AP)

When Google revealed its annual Year in Search results for 2023, there were a few surprises in store. In its top 10 list of the most searched athletes in 2023 across the world, some of the biggest names in the world were missing.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are arguably the greatest footballers the world has ever seen, were both missing from the top 10, despite Messi making a much hyped move to Major League Soccer to play for the Inter Miami team and winning his 8th Ballon d’Or title. Curiously, Inter Miami CF topped the list of teams that were the most searched sports teams in the world while part-owner of the team David Beckham was ninth in the list of most searched people. Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr FC was third in the list with LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers wedged between Messi’s Inter Miami and Al-Nassr. Messi’s former teammate Kylian Mbappé, though, made the cut at no 2, behind American football player Damar Hamlin.

But what was even more notable was that two cricketers made the top 10 list of the most searched athletes in 2023. And surprisingly, it was not Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma (or the legendary duo of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar either). Shubman Gill was the lone Indian to make the cut in the top 10. The India opener was in ninth spot. But pipping him to 8th spot was Indian-origin player Rachin Ravindra, who had a stellar showing at the recently-concluded Cricket World Cup for New Zealand.

Here are some of the most notable top 10 lists for Google in 2023:

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