After Virat Kohli, PUMA Ropes In KL Rahul

India batting star KL Rahul has signed a three-year deal with global sportswear brand PUMA on Tuesday.

The right-handed batsman became the second Indian cricketer after skipper Virat Kohli to be associated with the sportswear giants. The partnership will see Rahul feature in brand campaigns and promote the latest product lines across performance and sportstyle categories. The association has been facilitated by Cornerstone Sport, which exclusively represents Rahul and Kohli.

The development also ends the speculations which were doing the rounds after Kohli’s cryptic tweet. The India skipper had sparked off speculations by asking Jamaican legend Usain Bolt to guess the name of the player.

“Yo @usainbolt, bet a pair of my favourite Cricket spikes, you can’t guess which Indian cricketer is coming on board with @PUMA next! Just caught wind of the news… ?,” Kohli had tweeted.

Yo @usainbolt, bet a pair of my favourite Cricket spikes, you can't guess which Indian cricketer is coming on board with @PUMA next! Just caught wind of the news… ?

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 6, 2018

In reply, Bolt had tweeted:

Yow @imVkohli , I got the news already! I’m betting a pair of my favorite PUMA Running spikes – I know who this is! He's fast (but not as fast as me ?). Let’s wait and see who wins. https://t.co/KKQ8SjddwE

— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) August 6, 2018

Rahul expressed his delight over the association, saying:

“Choosing to exclusively partner with a sportwear brand is an important decision. And we have hit it out of the park with this association.

“As a cricketer I am constantly striving to be one step ahead in the game both on and off the pitch. And PUMA, the forever faster brand, shares the same goals and values. It will be amazing to work with PUMA . And join their impressive portfolio of athletes and super stars,”  he added

He also thanked Virat Kohli and Usain Bolt for the welcome, writing:

“Thank you @usainbolt @imVkohli for the warm welcome to the @PUMA fam. The excitement is overwhelming! Looking forward to being #ForeverFaster @pumacricket”

Thank you @usainbolt @imVkohli for the warm welcome to the @PUMA fam. The excitement is overwhelming! Looking forward to being #ForeverFaster @pumacricket pic.twitter.com/Pz1T8wEJA6

— K L Rahul (@klrahul) August 7, 2018

PUMA India MD Abhishek Ganguly said,

“Rahul is a world class athlete who inspires today’s youth with his performance and style. He is a perfect fit for the brand due to his exceptional performance on field, effortless style off field and his penchant for fitness.

“His personality is in total sync with PUMA’s brand ethos. We are very happy to associate with him and kicking off this exciting partnership together,” he added.

Rahul and Kohli, meanwhile, are currently in England for the ongoing Test series. Both the batsmen had contrasting outings in the first game. While Kohli starred with the bat in the narrow loss, Rahul failed in both the innings. Rahul scored only 4 and 0 in the game while Kohli scored 149 and 51.