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With his contract with Puma running out this year, it has been reported that the Kohli will not be re-signing with the sports brand, and might take his interests elsewhere.
Virat Kohli (Image: Sportzpics)
Virat Kohli’s long-term partnership and unmistakable association with sports brand Puma has reportedly come to an end, with the India, RCB star batter seeking newer pastures/partners.
Back in 2017, the legendary chase-master/batter Kohli penned an estimated Rs. 110 crore deal that kept him with Puma for 8 years.
With his contract with Puma running out this year, it has been reported that the RCB star will not be re-signing with the sports brand, and shall take his interests elsewhere.
“Sports brand PUMA India confirms the end of its longtime partnership with cricketer and brand ambassador Virat Kohli. PUMA wishes Virat the best in his future endeavors and said it was a wonderful association with him spanning several years, many outstanding campaigns, and path-breaking product collaborations. As a sports brand, PUMA will continue to actively invest in the next generation of athletes and aggressively build the future of the sporting ecosystem in India,” a Puma spokesperson reportedly said, according to NDTV Sports.
Now, as per more reports from livemint.com, in a bid to expand his own brand One8 into a global entity, Kohli is said to be pursuing a partnership with sporting athleisure brand Agilitas.
Founded in 2023 by former Puma India and South-East Asia managing director Abhishek Ganguly, Agilitas is involved in the production and retail of sportswear goods in India and across the world.
In an interesting turn of events, it is believed that last year, Agilitas acquired long-term license rights for the Italian sports brand Lotto in India, Australia, and South Africa: something that might work as incentive for Kohli.
No official confirmation has come from any of the entities and personalities involved, with more details set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
But, on the field currently, Kohli continues to set ablaze stadiums with his fiery form with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
In fact, the star batter rewrote history yet again by becoming the first player in the world to hit 1000 boundaries in the cash-rich Indian Premier League, during his encounter against Delhi Capitals on Thursday.
Kohli, who is one of the four players to feature in all 18 editions of the IPL played so far, has hammered 721 fours and 279 sixes in 257 IPL matches.
He holds the record for hitting the most fours in the IPL, and in the list of batters with the most sixes, he is only behind Chris Gayle (357) and Rohit Sharma (282).
