Uber signed Indian skipper Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. Kohli will be the first to endorse the Uber brand in India and this will be the 16th brand he promotes. Kohli has been associated with many brands like Puma, Manyavar, MRF. He also owns his own apparel brand, WROGN.

The 29-year-old earns about Rs 3.2 crore per brand with 17 million followers on Instagram, as of December 2017. Virat was at seventh position on Forbes ranking of the world’s most valuable athletes in October, leaving behind Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi.

He is India's most valuable celebrity with a brand value of $144 million.

In the 2017 report titled ‘Rise of the Millennials: India’s Most Valuable Celebrity Brands’, Duff & Phelps had said that Kohli topped the list with brand value of $144 million, followed by actors Shah Rukh Khan ($106 million), Deepika Padukone ($93 million), Akshay Kumar ($47 million) and Ranveer Singh ($42 million).

“Virat personifies dynamism, integrity, grit, ability, and passion. He is the embodiment of India’s ambitions on the world’s stage; he anchors the aspirations of billions, and it’s the little things he does that bring joy to their lives. It’s this balance of purpose with a larger responsibility to citizens of the world that makes him the perfect partner to realising Uber’s commitment to India. We are super excited to have him join the team at Uber India,” said Sanjay Gupta, Head of Marketing, Uber India & South Asia.

“I think Virat is a perfect fit for Uber India. In fact, any brand association with Kohli, given where he is, makes sense. He is on top of his game as well as the brand deals. Kohli stands for world-class performance, great delivery, and quick recall and I think all these attributes are something which Uber also wants to represent through its service,” Indraneel Das Blah, the chief operating officer at Kwan Entertainment and Marketing Solutions, a talent management firm, told the Mint.