Puma India announces it plans to continue brand ambassadorship of Virat Kohli following reports he may leave

Sportswear brand Puma announced that it plans to continue its relationship with celebrity cricket player Virat Kohli as a brand ambassador. The announcement comes at a time when reports are circulating that Kohli has been offered a deal by another brand in the industry. 

“Puma’s relationship with Virat Kohli is long-standing and continues,” said Puma India’s managing director Karthik Balagopalan, the Press Trust of India reported. Balagopalan rejected reports that Kohli is thinking about ending the brand deal, which was first signed in 2017 and is understood to be valued at around Rs 110 crore. 
 
Reports had surfaced that Kohli could join sportswear and lifestyle brand Agilitas Sports as a brand ambassador, Livemint reported. A CNBC TV18 report on February 7 also stated that Kohli was set to leave Puma India and join forces with Agilitas Sports. 

Agilitas Sports was launched by entrepreneur Abhishek Ganguly who previously worked as managing director of Puma India, including during the time that Kohli began working as a brand ambassador. The brand launched in May last year and secured Rs 100 crore in funding from Nexus Venture and reported swift growth in its first few months of operations.