5 August 2019 OutlOOk 25
Srinivasan’s Blessings
After two 4-0 whitewashes in England and
Australia in 2011-12, selectors unanimously
decided to rid Dhoni of the captaincy.
Mohinder Amarnath, former selector, said
BCCI president N. Srinivasan—who owned
CSK—overruled the decision.
Bookie Connection
The Supreme Court-appointed Mudgal com-
mittee referred to a case in 2014, which rep-
orts say, involved a former CID officer who
found links between bookies, G. Meiyappan,
the son-in-law of Srinivasan, and Dhoni. The
captain dismissed the allegations.
Rift with Seniors
Dhoni allegedly influenced the exclusion of
Ganguly and Dravid from the ODI team for
the 2008 Australia tour. Reports say he got
into an off-field spat with vice captain
Virender Sehwag before the 2009 World
T20 in West Indies. During India’s tour of
Australia in 2011-12, Dhoni said the team
“will lose about 20 runs” if Sachin, Gambhir
and Sehwag are played together. Result:
only two of these seniors played in one
match. One sat out.Conflict of Interest
Captain Dhoni waded into a conflict-of-in-
terest in 2013, with 15 per cent stakes (as
per reports) in Rhiti Sports Management
Private Limited, which managed his com-
mercial interests and that of others such as
Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja. The firm
also tended to CSK’s marketing.Mid-run Collision- ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur.
Dhoni set off for a single after playing the
ball to mid-off in the 25th over. Pacer
Mustafizur Rahman moved into Dhoni’s
path, and the batsman shoved him out of
his way. Dhoni lost 75 per cent of his match
fee; Mustafizur 50 per cent.Dagger on Gloves
India’s opening 2019 World Cup game
against South Africa in Southampton.
Dhoni’s green gloves had a dagger logo, like
an army ‘Balidan’ insignia. The rule book
allows only one sponsor’s logo on the wick-
etkeeper’s gloves. Dhoni sported an SG
logo. The ICC ruled out the dagger insignia.Shush! Spot-fixing
In 2013, when the IPL spot-fixing scandal
rocked cricket, Dhoni’s silence raised eye-
brows even as CSK and Rajasthan Royals
were suspended for two years (2015-17).
A prosecution lawyer accused him of ‘not
being entirely honest’ with the investiga-
tors. He finally spoke in a documentary in- “I was never depressed as much as I
was then. The closest was 2007 World Cup
when we lost in the group stages.”
Compiled by Sidharth Gulati
as the company had left thousands of
homebuyers stranded.
The Rhiti clarification follows accusa-
tions from auditors Pawan Kumar
Aggarwal and Ravinder Bhatia that
Amrapali had a “sham” agreement with
Rhiti. “Homebuyers’ money has been
div erted illegally and wrongly to Rhiti...
should be recovered from it as the agree-
ment in our opinion do not stand the test
of law,” states the report that the top court
reproduced on Tuesday.
The report says Rhiti received Rs 42.22
crore from Amrapali from 2009 to 2015.
Of this, Amrapali Sapphire Developers
Private Limited paid Rs 6.52 crore. The
audit questions “grey areas” in agree-
ments between Amrapali and Rhiti. One
such agreement, dated March 20, 2015,
gave Amrapali the “right to advertise as
logo space at various places in IPL 2015
for Chennai Super Kings”, which was led
by Dhoni. The auditors found that “this
agreement is on plain paper and executed
only between Amrapali and Rhiti and
there are no signatories on behalf of
Chennai Super Kings”.
Amrapali Mahi, with Sakshi as director,
also came under the auditors’ scanner.
Their report says the firm “received share
capital in cash and all the expenses were
paid in cash”. An MoU was also signed
between the parties, though the court wasnot provided a copy of it. Also, the audi-
tors state that “we are informed verbally
this company (Amrapali Mahi) was incor-
porated for a project in Ranchi”.
The audit report says a flat was booked
for Rhiti in the Amrapali Sapphire hous-
ing project as an “adjustment”. Sanjay
Pandey of Rhiti, however, dismissed the
allegation. He told the auditors that no
“no due diligence was carried out before
accepting the brand endorsement
(Dhoni’s), though the value and paying
capacity was taken into consideration”.
For his part, Dhoni is known for his cool,
composed ways—if we discount his out-
bursts on the field once in a while, which
are rare, and his famous “maun brat”
during the IPL spot-fixing scandal that
rocked Indian cricket’s vary foundations.
Dhoni has weathered many a storm in the
past. Will he ride out this one too? OAmrapali Mahi, with
Sakshi as director, is
under the lens...the firm
“received share capital
in cash and all expenses
were paid in cash”.noT The MAhI wAy