It has been reported that team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a 15 % stake in a sports marketing firm Rhiti Sports. It also manages four other cricketers Pragyan Ojha, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and R P Singh.
It has come to light that apparently there is a conflict of interest between Dhoni the businessman and Dhoni the captain. The firm is owned by Dhoni's close friend and confidant as well as his sports agent Arun Pandey. Reports revealed that since Dhoni has the power in picking up Team India players in all three formats of the game, there are chances of him excluding those players who are being managed by the marketing firm in which he himself has a venture.
Former cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad insisted that there is definitely a conflict of interest in this case. The joint secretary of BCCI Anurag Thakur who heard it for the first time asserted that in case there is a concern, they may look into the matter.
According to the reports, since Dhoni is the captain of Chennai Super Kings, it cannot be ignored that in January 2012, after eight consecutive Test losses suffered by Team India, the CSK owner and BCCI president N Srinivasan reportedly used his veto powers to draw a 3-2 vote in the selection to eliminate Dhoni as captain and player from the CSK team. It is considered to be coincidental that Jadeja and Raina who are managed by Rhiti Sports, would play for Chennai Super Kings. In addition, Dhoni is also a vice-president in India Cements--the company that owns CSK.
Rahul Mehra, a lawyer who has been opposing sports management in India admitted that Dhoni is part of the corridors of power. He questioned that which selector will oppose Dhoni when he is one of the think-tank in CSK, which is owned by a company run by the BCCI president and he himself is a vice-president in that company?
According to the BCCI rules, the 15-member squad for a tour is selected by a group of five selectors. It is true that the captain and coach have some power in the selection meeting but they don't enjoy the right to vote. Thakur of BCCI confirmed that the captain gives inputs to selectors. To be frank, the coach, captain, vice-captain selects the playing 11 during the tour.
Former India cricketer Maninder Singh commented that the players managed by Dhoni's company will have an unfair advantage. Singh asserted that the joint MD of marketing firm Percept, Shailendra Singh has managed cricketers like Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh in the past. There is no problem in the arrangement Dhoni has with Rhiti, however it is yet to be seen in the current context as there is adequate dirt in the corridors. It is well known that Dhoni and Arun Pandey have a 15-year old friendship which developed into business partners.
Pandey started negotiating endorsement deals for Dhoni in 2007. Further he selected his friend's firm Rhiti Sports for a three-year deal worth Rs 210 crore in July 2010. The records indicated that Rhiti Sports recorded revenues of Rs 63 crore and a net profit of Rs 2.5 crore in 2011 and 12.
In a board meeting held on 22nd March, 2013, the company approved the allotment of 30,000 shares (or 15.1% stake) to Dhoni. In fact, the shares were allotted at par value, which implies that Dhoni paid Rs 3 lakh for the 15.1% stake. It has transpired that Dhoni also floated companies, in partnership with Pandey and/or Rhiti Sports in order to enter into new business areas like image licensing in March 2012 through Rhiti MSD Alamode Pvt Ltd and gyms in February 2013 through Sportsfit World Overseas Pvt Ltd. Dhoni and his wife Sakshi hold 65%; Pandey 30% and Rhiti Sports 5% shares in Rhiti, MSD Alamode Pvt Ltd. The company deals with the business of "licensing the use of Dhoni's name for various products like luxury items, consumer goods and other fashion-related products which enter into ventures/business with Dhoni. It is well known that Sportsfit World Overseas is in the business of gyms and Rhiti MSD Alamode owns 73% of this company. Another 26% is held by the former marketing head of Reebok India Sajid Shamin and the rest 1% by Arun Pandey. It is clear that Dhoni has an equity interest, direct or indirect in at least three firms in which Rhiti Sports is also a part.
Additionally, Dhoni also owns a stake in Rhiti MSD-N Motorsport India. This company manages the MSD RN Racing Team which takes part in the World Superbike Championship. This company was originally called N Motorsport India and promoted by two Bangaloreans--Nandish Domlur and Amit Sandill. The company shifted an application to change its brand name from N Motorsport India to Rhiti MSD-N Motorsport India on 2nd September, 2012.
