Virat Kohli is easily the country's highest-paid sports star and the most sought-after celebrity by advertisers. The Indian cricket team captain recently struck a multi-crore endorsement deal with a popular sports brand and as of 2016, the 28-year-old was promoting around 20 brands of 13 different companies.
Kohli confirmed to Sportstar that he declined the multi-crore offer for the simple reason that he does not consume soft drinks.
Earlier in the year, Kohli made it clear that he doesn’t want to promote a brand just for the sake of money. “When I started my fitness turnaround, it was more of a lifestyle thing initially. If something goes away from that, I would not want to be a part of that or be promoting that,” Kohli had told CNN-IBN.
He had added: "If I myself won't consume such things, I won't urge others to consume it just because I'm getting money out of it."
“As a kid, I would long for a soft drink,” he confesses, “but it doesn’t work well with professional sportspersons. At my academy, you won’t find soft drinks in the canteen.”
What has he told his celebrated wards – Saina Nehwal, P. V. Sindhu, P. Kashyap? “I have not stopped them from endorsing a soft drink. It’s their choice. But I have told them not to have soft drinks,” he says, chuckling. Incidentally, Kohli and Gopi joined hands recently to launch annual sports awards for those promoting excellence.
Kohli is currently training in Chennai, the venue for the first ODI against a visiting Australia side. India will take on the Smith-led side in a 5-match ODI series followed by a 3-match T20 series. The first game will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
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