Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi into a Punjabi family. His father, Prem Kohli, worked as a criminal lawyer and his mother, Saroj Kohli, is a housewife. He has an elder brother, Vikash, and an elder sister, Bhavna. According to his family, when he was three-years old, Kohli would pick up a cricket bat, start swinging it and ask his father to bowl at him.

Kohli was signed up by sports agent Bunty Sajdeh of Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment after the 2008 Under-19 World Cup. Sajdeh recalls, "I didn't go after them after they became stars. In fact, I watched Virat at the 2008 ICC Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. I was mighty impressed with his attitude and the way he was marshalling his team. He had that spark. And I told Yuvi to set up the meeting." Sajdeh manages Kohli's endorsement deals, along with those of other Indian cricketers Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay. It was reported in 2013 that Kohli's brand endorsements were worth over Rs100 crore. His bat deal with MRF is said to be the costliest deal in Indian cricket history. In 2017, he signed an eight-year endorsement deal with Puma worth about Rs110 crore, becoming the first Indian sportsperson to sign a Rs100 crore deal with a brand.  In 2014, American Appraisal estimated Kohli's brand value at US$56.4 million placing him fourth on the list of India's most valued celebrity brands. The same year, UK-based magazine SportsPro rated Kohli as the second most marketable athlete in the world behind only Lewis Hamilton, placing him above the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Usain Bolt. In an October 2016 report by Duff & Phelps on India's most valued celebrity brands, Kohli's brand value was estimated to be US$92 million, second only to that of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.  In 2017, Kohli was ranked 7th in the list released by Forbes as the Most Valuable Brand among athletes ahead of players like Lionel Messi, Rory McIlroy and Stephen Curry with an estimated brand value of $14.5 million.  As of September 2017, Kohli has endorsement deals with 17 brands. The brands Kohli previously endorsed include 3C Company, Celkon Mobiles, Cinthol (from Godrej), Clear (from Unilever), Fair & Lovely, Fastrack (from Titan), Pepsi, Flying Machine, Mattel, Munch (from Nestle), Oakley, Red Chief Shoes, Royal Challenge (from United Breweries), Sangam Suitings and Toyota Motors.

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