Kohli set for switch from Puma to Indian firm Agilitas
India cricket superstar Virat Kohli has reportedly swapped sportswear giant Puma for startup Agilitas.
Reports out of India suggest Kohli has invested in the Indian start up, whose founders include former Puma executive Atul Bajaj and Abhishek Ganguly, as part of the deal.
The as yet not fully launched Bengaluru firm were able to lure Kohli away from renewing with Puma, where he was offered around £26m to re-sign.
Kohli’s One8 brand is also set to open stores in markets such as the US and UK as part of the deal, with Agilitas set to benefit from retail expansion via the athleisure and footwear organisation.
Kohli’s investment as part of the deal with Agilitas is unknown but has been described as “substantial”.
Though it would be slightly different, the likes of Tiger Woods – with Sun Day Red – Roger Federer – Swiss brand On – and Andy Murray – Castore – are examples of major sports stars investing in athleisure brands to challenge the big hitters of Nike, Adidas and Puma.
Kohli brand
Agilitas chief executive Ganguly spent over 17 years with Puma across a number of roles, including managing director and global cricket head, before switching to the start-up.
Bajaj, the firm’s COO, spent 10 years at Puma Sports India after a number of years at Puma.
Kohli plies his Indian Premier League trade with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who beat Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets in the Twenty20 competition on Sunday.
They’re within reach of the post season in a team that includes the likes of England trio Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell and Liam Livingstone, as well as Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood.
Kohli, who has 271m followers on Instagram, holds the record for the most runs, most 50s and most 100s in Indian Premier League history.
His team are next in action on Friday against Punjab Kings.