
Mumbai, Nov. 5: Bringing together thousands of Virat Kohli fans, leading sportswear brand, PUMA, in a unique birthday tribute, created a massive mural of the iconic Indian cricketer by using 5000 red cricket balls at Mumbai's Carter Road Amphitheater on Saturday.
The excited fans engaged with mural artist Gurseet Singh to create a 20ft-by-20ft mural of Kohli's face in a marathon nine-hour activity that began at 8:00 am.
It was befitting that the tribute to the ace cricketer was nothing short of spectacular.
"Virat Kohli is a modern-day cricket legend and has a special place in the fans' heart. He is an inspiration to not only a legion of fans but even the professionals associated with the game. It was our endeavour to bring them all together and make it a special birthday celebration for one of the most complete batsmen of this era," said Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, PUMA India and Southeast Asia.
But what made the celebration even more special was the presence of Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma's presence.
"It looks amazing and very creative from team PUMA and I will definitely send it to Virat as well. It fills my heart with great pride to see him getting so much love," Rajkumar Sharma said.
Several other sports personalities who were present at the event included inspirational 94-year-old sprinter Bhagwani Devi, footballer Glan Martins and Anwar Ali, cricketer Anuj Rawat and swimmer Srihari. Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter, a Kohli fan had also joined for the day-long celebration.
On the occasion, PUMA also activated its key stores across the country with Virat Kohli themed- engagements to let fans express their love and admiration for the cricketer.
Tattoo Artists, Hair Stylists and Face Painters will be indulging fans with Kohli-inspired tattoos, haircuts with VK initials, to unique face paint and more at the PUMA stores till November 12, as part of the Virat's tribute birthday celebration week.
Source: Media Release