Uber bets on India in deal with cricket celebrity

Bangalore

UBER Technologies Inc has named India's cricket captain - one of the world's most expensive sports celebrities - as brand ambassador, signalling that while it may be ceding ground in Southeast Asia, it's still trying to grow in the subcontinent.

Virat Kohli would be its first brand ambassador in India in a "one of its kind initiative across the Asia Pacific region", Uber said in an announcement on Friday afternoon. Uber is going head-to-head against Bangalore-based rival Ola, whose parent ANI Technologies Pvt is also backed by SoftBank Group Corp.