Digital Agencies
Kohli, De Villiers, Gayle, Dhoni & McCullum are Top 5 batsmen on social media: TO THE NEW
MUMBAI: Off late the ICC Cricket World Cup has been the most talked about event on digital platforms, with most official broadcasters providing live online and mobile streaming and users consuming digital content on the go.
For millennial population, who have been born in 21st century, social media has emerged as the most preferred channel to consume cricket content.
According to TO THE NEW Digital’s holistic metric called Social Impact Index, the top five batsmen on social media have been Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle and Brendan McCullum.
Kohli got 44 per cent of his positive mentions for his century against Pakistan on 15 February, 2015. His negative mentions saw another spike around 3 March, 2015 on his abusive remarks to the journalist. His Net Sentiment Score is +6 per cent, which would have been better if not for this incident. Kohli has lost his mentions mostly to the other performers in the batting lineup namely Shikhar Dhawan, who has won some hearts on social media with his mentions increasing 1,224 times on 22 February, 2015.
About 56 per cent of the mentions can be owed to AB De Villiers’ fiery innings of 162 against West Indies on 27 February, 2015. De Villiers has the Highest Net Sentiment Score of +42 per cent amongst all the players till now in CWC15.
Gayle’s stand out performance of the first ever Double ton in CWC15 was very well greeted by the social media audience. Gaylestorm received a whopping 78.56 per cent of his positive mentions for the innings on 24 February, 2015. Gayle has continued to impress his followers with his witty tweets and fierce batting attributing to a Net Sentiment score of +37 per cent.
Dhoni has been Social Media’s favorite throughout CWC 15 and unlike others who received mentions basis their performances, Dhoni was the most talked about captain on the day of Cricket World Cup 2015 opening ceremony. Dhoni has also received good mentions during all the India matches and a Net Sentiment score of +8 per cent that can be attributed to his excellent captaincy throughout CWC15.
McCullum has been the most impactful player in the tournament for New Zealand with his brief but thunderous contributions with the bat which is quite evident from his Net Sentiment score of +12 per cent.
BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.
But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.
Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.
The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given
Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.
In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.
Scale has changed rverything
Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.
Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.
Guesswork quietly wears teams down
One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.
When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.
Actionable feedback is a shared skill
Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.
Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:
What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.
Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)
The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.
When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.
From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:
● Does this meet the brief?
● Does this solve the problem?
● Does this align with the goal?
This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.
2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops
There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.
In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.
Ending guesswork is a mindset change
Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”
Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
