Kohli a cross-sports equivalent of legendary keeper Manuel Neuer, claims Bayern Munich

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have named India cricket superstar Virat Kohli as the cross-sport equivalent of their legendary captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Kohli is one of the biggest sporting icons acroBundesliga giants Bayern Munich have named India cricket superstar Virat Kohli as the cross-sport equivalent of their legendary captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Kohli is one of the biggest sporting icons across the globe and the third most followed sportsperson on the social media platform Instagram followed by football greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Six-time UEFA Champions League winners Bayern Munich replied to a fan query on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Name 2 athletes from different sports who are cross-sports equivalents to each other," the fan asked.

The club replied with the two names - Manuel Neuer and Virat Kohli and also added the goat emoticons after their names.

Meanwhile, for the first time in the past decade, Bayern Munich are expected to lose the Bundesliga title. They are currently placed second on the points table behind Bayer Leverkusen who have a good eight-point lead sitting at the top.

The Bavarians also trailing behind in the UEFA Champions League after losing the first leg of the round of 16 against Lazio. Bayern will host the Italian club next week at Allianz Arena in the quest to keep their seventh UCL title hopes alive.

Manager Thomas Tuchel is also set to leave the club at the end of the season as the German giants are also in search of a coach to replace him.

Meanwhile, cricketing icon Virat Kohli, who recently became a father for the second time, opted out of the ongoing five-match series against England due to personal reasons. The batting star was initially named in India's squad for the first two Tests but he withdrew his name days before the opening match and decided to give a miss to the entire series.

Last week he broke the news of becoming father of a boy on social media.

"With abundant happiness and our hearts all of love, we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February, we welcomed our baby boy Akaay & Vamika's little brother into this world!" wrote in a letter on X.

After India's series win over England with Ranchi triumph, Kohli took to X and congratulated his teammates for their incredible performance.

"YES! Phenomenal series win by our young team. Showed grit, determination and resilience," he posted on X.