“Aaj se tum team mein, photo nikal” - 5 Virat Kohli commercials that were funny

Team India’s star batter Virat Kohli completes 14 years in international cricket on Thursday (August 18). The 33-year-old made his debut for India in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Opening the innings, he struggled and was dismissed lbw by Nuwan Kulasekara for 12 off 22 balls.

Overcoming a shaky start, the right-handed batter soon went on to establish himself as a mainstay of the Indian batting line-up. Today, he is one of the biggest names in world cricket. In his 14-year career so far, he has amassed 23726 runs in international cricket. The right-handed batter has 70 international centuries to his name - 43 in ODIs and 27 in Tests.

Apart from his batting skills, the Delhi cricketer is also India’s most successful Test captain. He led the country in 68 matches in the traditional format, winning as many as 40 games.

Being such a prolific sportsperson, Kohli has endorsed a number of brands over the years. Cricketers, in general, are not known for their acting skills. But the former Indian captain is an exception to the rule. He has featured in a few funny commercials over the years. We look back at five such ads.

---

#5 Too Yumm

Kohli’s ‘Too Yumm’ ad gives the feel of a rap video. In this, the cricketer keeps munching on snacks without a worry in the world, even as those all around him wonder how he manages to remain so carefree.

The ad captures him in various venues - on a poolside, at an ad shoot, and spending some time with friends as well.

All he is doing in the commercial is eating and eating. The ad ends with the tagline, "Eat lot, fikar not (eat a lot without worrying)".

---

#4 Celkon Smartron

In the mobile phone ad, Kohli is seen wooing actress Tamannaah Bhatia. The commercial begins with someone asking Tamannaah out, only to end up getting slapped. Kohli, however, tells his friends that he can ‘patao’ (win over) the girl.

He pretends that he has lost his mobile and requests Tamannaah to give her a missed call. Upon finding his phone, he asked Tamannaah if she wanted him to delete her number from the call log. The smiling actress replies that it’s okay.

Kohli then asks for the name of the ‘contact’, to which the latter replies, ‘Tamannaah’. He then clicks a photo of Tamannaah and tells her that he has sent her a friend request!

---

#3 Pepsi

The commercial mainly centered around Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, but Kohli managed to leave his stamp in a short appearance. In the ad, Kohli smashes a delivery into the stands during a match. Ranbir, a spectator, caught the ball.

Wanting to make an impression, he refuses to give the ball back. He starts dancing to grab everyone’s attention. In the process, though, he loses balance and control of the ball, which rolls back into the ground.

Kohli himself runs all the way to the boundary to collect the ball. While at it, he also made a funny hand gesture at Ranbir to suggest that his attempt was a flop. The commercial ends with an impressed Anushka asking Ranbir to give her a call.

---

# 2 Google Duo

In the ad featuring Virushka, Anushka Sharma is seen pulling off a prank on her real-life hubby. The duo are interacting on Google Duo and Kohli is having some trouble shooting an ad. He tells Anushka that the director is urging him to put more emotion into his acting.

Anushka replies that she will help him out. On the pretext of guiding him, she makes him do something rather embarrassing. She asks Kohli to imagine himself as a beej (seed) and then act as if he is growing. Innocently, the husband followed the orders and ended up getting pranked.

Kohli realizes something is amiss when he asks Anushka, “Baby yeh work karega na? (Will this work?)”, only for the latter to burst out laughing.

---

#1 Munch

This is arguably the funniest ad Kohli has featured in. Kohli plays a South Indian lookalike of himself and is often teased for his lack of cricket skills - someone who runs in like a fast bowler and then delivers the ball underarm.

The man, however, gains respect due to Munch. On a day when it seems like his colony cricket team is about to lose their third match in a row, he distracts the opponents by having a crunchy bite of Munch.

The fielder loses concentration and drops a catch, as a result of which the opposition ends up losing the match. The ad ends with members of his colony cricket team telling Kohli’s lookalike:

“Aaj se tum team mein, photo nikal.”

The former Indian captain is currently on a break. He will return to action during the Asia Cup, which will be held in the UAE from August 27 to September 11.

---