Dhoni's stake in Rhiti Sports Management reveals conflict of interest

MS Dhoni

Recent investigations have revealed that India skipper MS Dhoni had bought 15% stake in a sports marketing firm earlier this year. The firm is called Rhiti Sports Management, and was set up by Arun Pandey, a close friend and business associate of Dhoni. The firm not only manages Dhoni, but also four other current cricketers – Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh. The firm has build some tangled business associations, which raises some doubts about Dhoni’s priority between cricket and business.

MS Dhoni has 15% stakes in the firm, and also has a 15% share of the profit earned by the firm in managing all the 4 players. It might also bring out a conflict of interest as termed by some former cricketers. “There is definitely a conflict of interest in this case,” says former cricketer Kirti Azad, who was a selector in 2002-03.

Dhoni is the captain of both Indian national team and Chennai Super Kings. This certainly raises doubts about Dhoni’s preferential treatment to all these four players while selecting the team for India and also CSK.

“Dhoni is part of the corridors of power,” said Rahul Mehra, a lawyer who has been railing against sports management in India.

“Which selector will oppose Dhoni when he is a part of the think-tank in CSK, which is owned by a company of the BCCI president, and he himself is a vice-president in that company? Under BCCI rules, the 15-member team for a tour is picked by a group of five selectors. The captain and coach have a say in the selection meeting, but they don’t have a vote. The captain gives inputs to selectors,” confirmed Anurag Thakur, joint secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Source- THE ECONOMIC TIMES