Nike had only Sreesanth and that was an 'extremely dangerous situation': How Virat Kohli signed with the brand
Former Nike Sports Marketing Head Jatin Paranjpe revealed how Indian captain Virat Kohli was offered a deal that saw him flaunt the famous swoosh on his bat.
In an interview with Gaurav Kapur on an episode of 22 Yarns, Paranjpe spoke about how he offered Virat Kohli the deal in the 2007/08 season ahead of the U-19 skipper's 2008 World Cup win.
He said that Nike had only Sreesanth on the cricket roster, which was a frightening scenario for any brand.
"Nike had only Sreesanth as a cricket athlete and at that time, there wasn't the thought for a Nike bat. It was just footwear, shoes, etc. And we had a roster that had only S Sreesanth written on it. That is an extremely dangerous situation to be in and that scared the daylights out of me."
I saw hunger, confidence in Virat Kohli's eyes: Paranjpe
The 48-year-old opened up about how he saw Virat Kohli in action in an India U-19 camp, along with the Delhi batsman's teammate Tanmay Srivastava.
Paranjpe stated -
"Through my coaches network, I started going to watch a lot of matches, and Virat Kohli was one of them in an India U-19 camp ahead of the 2008 U-19 World Cup. I saw that he had something in his eyes - a hunger, a confidence."
"Virat Kohli was my very first signing, and the next day, I signed Tanmay Srivastav."
Jatin Paranjpe comes from a very respected cricketing family, with his father a former Ranji Trophy cricketer and reputed coach at the National Cricket Academy.
Virat Kohli sported the Nike logo on his bat for many years, until he was sued by the brand for a breach of contract. The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper honoured his agreement with them till 2013, but didn't activate the option to extend his deal by another year.
Virat Kohli now displays the famous MRF logo, which has made appearances on the willows of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, and AB de Villiers, on his bat.