Rhiti Sports, the management group run by Arun Pandey, a close friend of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Monday denied the India skipper had any stake in the company.
Dhoni, according to media reports, was alleged to hold 15 per cent stake in the company.
Pandey, a club cricketer from Uttar Pradesh, claimed that Dhoni was briefly connected with Rhiti Sports which represents players from the Indian team including the captain. There were suggestions that Dhoni’s association amounted to conflict of interest — Rhiti also manages Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, and Pragyan Ojha, and the captain plays an important part in the selection of the team.
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In response, Pandey said, “We, at Rhiti Sports Management, are greatly aggrieved at the widespread media reports regarding an alleged conflict of interest of Dhoni. Though not obliged to, but in order to put at rest these widespread speculations, we are issuing the following statement.
“As on date, MS [Dhoni] holds no shareholding in Rhiti Sports Management. However, it is made clear that shareholding was allotted to MSD [on] 22 March, 2013 only [for Dhoni] to secure certain old outstandings (sic) [from the company] which were due for more than one year. The payments were cleared in April 2013 and the shareholding was transferred back to promoter of the company on 26 April, 2013.”
The statement added that the company adhered to the law of the land.
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Dhoni and Pandey have a long cricketing association that later turned into a business collaboration. They used to play for various local teams in the Capital. Pandey, a trainee at the National Stadium, and Dhoni were both employed by Indian Airlines before they resigned.