Virat Kohli joined LinkedIn on October 13, and he used his arrival to talk business. The former India captain looked back on 18 years in cricket in the About section of his profile and in an introductory post, he also spoke of his push for higher fitness standards in India and detailed his commercial plans: an investment of Rs 40 crore in Bengaluru sportswear company Agilitas Sports, and his role as co-founder and co-creator of one8world, the sports brand he is building with the company.
The post is important because it’s the next phase of Kohli’s career in terms of ownership and building. Kohli decided to opt for an equity partnership with Agilitas, instead of renewing his contract with Puma, which was for Rs 300 crore for eight years, Business Standard and Outlook India reported. Kohli has invested Rs 40 crore of his own money in the company for a 1.94 percent stake, they reported. Now his LinkedIn page reads like a founder’s bio: professional athlete with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, investor in Agilitas from 2025, co-founder of one8world from 2026.
What Kohli Wrote in His First Post
Kohli started with the game that made him. The pitch was home to me for 18 years. “Those 22 yards not only shaped my game, they made me everything I am today and for that I owe the game more than I can ever give back,” he wrote in his About section, Outlook India quoted him. He also wrote that fitness has become a way of life for millions in India and that this brings with it a responsibility to raise standards in the sector.
Most of his message was in the business section of the post. “I have always wanted to see India where every sport is followed, celebrated and played,” Kohli wrote, adding that a new generation of athletes was showing the country’s ability to produce top talent and build brands that can be sold abroad. “Agilitas is planning to build a full-fledged sporting business out of India, including manufacturing, consumer brands and distribution,” he said. He left with a long-term promise: “It’s time to build something that will outlive all of us.”
Kohli told Business Standard one8 is a brand about breaking barriers, raising standards and doing things differently and he recalled the launch in his home town Delhi in front of thousands of people as one of the most special moments of his life. Outlook India reports that he wants one8world to be a high-performance sports brand with international reach.
The Numbers Behind the Announcement
Kohli’s post has specific figures attached. He was allotted 3,61,611 compulsorily convertible preference shares in Agilitas worth nearly Rs 40 crore, which gives him a 1.94 percent stake, according to the books of regulatory filings, NDTV Profit reported. With a Rs 40 crore price for 1.94 percent, the implied company value is Rs 2,058 crore, the same valuation that NDTV Profit put on Agilitas in its latest round of funding. So the numbers add up.
Kohli had signed up with Puma in 2017 in a deal believed to be worth Rs 110 crore and they parted ways in 2025, as per Zee Business. According to reports quoted by Business Standard and Outlook India, he opted for the equity-based Agilitas partnership over the renewal that was reportedly worth Rs 300 crore over eight years, a decision that demonstrates how strongly he is backing the company’s plans. That number for the renewal is based on media reports, not an official statement.
Agilitas is a young company with a team of experienced people. NDTV Profit reported that the company was founded in 2023 by Abhishek Ganguly, who previously was the managing director of Puma India and Southeast Asia, along with Atul Bajaj and Amit Prabhu. Its model is a combination of product design, manufacturing and retail. The company acquired Mochiko Shoes, one of the largest makers of sports footwear in India and whose clients include Adidas, Puma, Skechers, Reebok, Asics and Decathlon. Mochiko’s revenue was Rs 642 crore in FY23 and Agilitas is targeting Rs 1,350 crore by FY26. It is backed by Convergent Finance, Nexus Venture Partners and Rainmatter.
Agilitas acquired Kohli’s one8 brand in December 2025, reported The Economic Times. It launched its first independent footwear collection with premium cricket spikes priced at Rs 13,999 on June 21 in New Delhi. Kohli’s sports investments are not limited to apparel. In May 2025, Reuters reported that he had become a strategic investor in the World Bowling League, and he is linked to FC Goa in football and a team in the E1 powerboat series.
Why LinkedIn? Why now?
Virat Kohli joins a host of other Indian cricketers already on the LinkedIn platform. According to Asianet Newsable, existing members are Ajinkya Rahane, Sachin Tendulkar, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya. It wasn’t long before his story was officially confirmed. “It is true,” a source told Gulf News, with LinkedIn India country manager Kumaresh Pattabiraman publicly welcoming Kohli to the network.
“Kohli is a leader of the new generation who builds beyond a single career and excels in all of them,” Pattabiraman said, noting that his business story has the potential to reach 185 million Indians and over one billion professionals worldwide on LinkedIn.
That is LinkedIn’s most rapidly expanding investment. In September 2025, Business Standard quoted Pattabiraman saying LinkedIn has more than 160 million members in India and the country could become the company’s largest market within two to three years if growth continues. For Kohli, the page provides something his other social accounts can’t: direct access to partners, investors and future employees, in a setting designed for business conversations.
Kohli’s playing career goes on. He had ruled out coming back to Test cricket earlier this year and is likely to return to action during India’s ODI series against New Zealand in November, according to Asianet Newsable. The LinkedIn debut is part of a larger trend of top athletes finding second careers as investors and founders.
Kohli’s arrival on LinkedIn sounds less like a celebrity update and more like an introduction by a founder. He says, “I have set aside Rs 300 crore for renewal, which shows my scale of commitment to Agilitas. That commitment is manifested in the Rs 40 crore he has invested, the factories in Noida and Uttarakhand and the one8world line that is already on sale. With LinkedIn’s Indian membership crossing 160 million, he’s chosen a fitting platform to tell the story – and invite partners, investors and athletes to be a part of it.