yeah I have no doubt he was up there. Probably further than I think if I'm honest but my guess would be a cricketer. They are fanatical about cricket in India, Pakistan etc and it is reasonably global. I don't know what the population of India is exactly but I'm guessing at least 3 times that of usa. And a lot of cricket playing nations it is their only major sport. Someone like Sachin Tendulkar is going to be known by a lot of people to say the least. I'm not down on MJ nor basketball. And I'm aware he transcended the sport, he'll I'm only aware of 2 and he is one. I just think you are underestimating just how big sports like cricket are.