Virat Kohli’s One8 is getting fresh attention in September 2026, but the bigger story is no longer just the cricketer behind the brand. The sportswear label is now moving into a wider phase built around performance footwear, athlete partnerships, fashion collaborations and a stronger push beyond India.
The latest attention came during the Women’s Asia Cup, where Pakistan women’s cricketers were spotted wearing One8 Cover Drive 18 X cricket shoes during their match against Hong Kong. The appearance quickly attracted attention online because One8 is co-founded by Kohli, an Indian cricket icon, while the players wearing the shoes were representing Pakistan.
For One8, this is more than an unusual social media moment. It shows how the brand is beginning to appear in sporting environments outside its original association with Kohli. The players were seen wearing the Cover Drive 18 X, a cricket-focused product available in multiple colour options. The visibility also came alongside a strong performance from Pakistan spinner Nashra Sandhu, although the sporting result itself should not be treated as evidence of the product’s performance.
This matters because One8 has spent 2026 trying to change the way consumers see the brand. Instead of remaining mainly an athlete-led lifestyle label, it is being developed under Agilitas Sports as a high-performance sportswear business. The company acquired One8 in December 2025, with Kohli joining Agilitas as an investor and One8 co-founder. He invested ₹40 crore in Agilitas as part of the new structure.
The acquisition is now better understood as the foundation for the brand’s current expansion rather than the main news itself. Agilitas operates across manufacturing, research and development, brand building and retail distribution. It also acquired footwear manufacturer Mochiko Shoes in 2023, giving the group greater control over parts of the sports footwear supply chain.
That structure is important for One8’s long-term Business Strategy. An athlete’s popularity can create attention, but a sportswear company needs more than celebrity visibility to grow. It needs product development, manufacturing capacity, retail access and repeat customers. One8’s current model is designed to bring those areas closer together.
The brand has also widened its athlete network. In April 2026, Smriti Mandhana joined One8 as a co-creator, giving the business a stronger connection with women’s cricket and the growing women’s sports market. Agilitas said the partnership was part of One8’s move toward a performance-first sportswear platform.
One8 has also moved further into fashion and lifestyle. In June, the brand announced fashion designer and entrepreneur Masaba Gupta as its first Indian designer collaborator. The partnership was linked to One8’s footwear and accessories range and showed that the company wants to connect sportswear with fashion and culture rather than remain limited to traditional athletic products.
Another important development came through One8’s product strategy. In May, the brand partnered with District for a limited access-led product launch around SEAM XVIII and its Global Premiere. The campaign linked product purchases with access to a brand experience, turning a footwear launch into a fan-engagement exercise.
This is where One8’s Social Media Influence becomes commercially important. Virat Kohli provides a large built-in audience, but the brand is increasingly using athletes, limited products, digital campaigns and experiences to create reasons for consumers to interact with One8 beyond simply seeing Kohli wear it.
The approach also reflects a wider shift in the Creator Economy. Sports personalities are increasingly becoming more than Brand Endorsements. They can participate in product creation, ownership, investment and brand strategy. Kohli’s current role in One8 gives the business a structure in which his personal influence can support a company that is also building its own manufacturing and retail capabilities.
For consumers, the change has a simple practical meaning. One8’s future growth will depend less on the name alone and more on whether its footwear and apparel can compete on comfort, design, performance, pricing and availability. A strong celebrity connection can attract the first purchase, but product quality and customer experience are what can drive repeat demand.
The brand’s international ambition is also becoming easier to see. Agilitas has positioned One8 as a high-performance sports brand built from India with global ambitions. The company’s broader sportswear platform and manufacturing capabilities are intended to support that goal. However, international expansion remains a long-term business process, and the current visibility should not be treated as proof that One8 has already become a major global sportswear competitor.
There is also a potential Brand Value benefit from seeing One8 used by athletes outside Kohli’s immediate market. The recent Pakistan Women’s Asia Cup visibility is particularly notable because it puts the product in a different sporting and national context. It does not by itself establish market penetration, but it shows how sports products can gain organic attention when they appear in real competition environments.
Agilitas is also investing in the wider platform. In June 2026, the company announced ₹225 crore in funding from Nexus Venture Partners and Rainmatter by Zerodha, saying the capital would help accelerate its India-to-global sportswear ambition. This funding is for Agilitas and should not be presented as One8 revenue or profit.
The financial side needs similar caution. One8 has been associated with different sales figures across different years and business arrangements, but those numbers should not be mixed together to create a single current revenue figure. There is not enough basis to treat older reported sales as a measure of One8’s September 2026 performance.
As observed in the latest One8 developments, the brand is now trying to build something larger than a celebrity merchandise business. Its strategy combines Virat Kohli’s Social Media Influence with athlete partnerships, performance footwear, fashion, retail and Agilitas’ manufacturing platform.
For the sportswear industry, this makes One8 an interesting example of how Indian athlete-led brands can attempt to move toward long-term ownership and product development. For consumers, the more useful question is no longer simply how famous the person behind the brand is, but whether the products can earn a place in an increasingly competitive sportswear market.
Based on recent social media activity, public platform updates and company announcements, One8 is clearly in an active expansion phase in 2026. However, consumers and readers should rely on official company announcements and verified financial filings for detailed revenue, profitability and technical product claims. Recent visibility, including athletes wearing One8 products, shows growing attention but should not alone be treated as proof of commercial success.
One8’s latest chapter therefore looks less like a simple celebrity-brand story and more like an attempt to build an Indian sportswear business with a wider ecosystem around it. The next stage will depend on product performance, consumer trust, retail expansion and the brand’s ability to turn Kohli’s influence into lasting business value.
