Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni may just get richer by Rs 40 crore as he has moved the Supreme Court against the Amrapali group who used the former Indian captain's services for six years between 2009 and 2016.
Between the said timeframe, Dhoni entered into various agreements with the embattled real estate group to promote the company as its brand ambassador and granted exclusive rights to use his endorsement in marketing and public relations activities. But he parted ways with the real estate group after homebuyers launched a social media campaign against the cricketer for promoting the company. The cricketer's wife, Sakshi Singh Dhoni, was also associated with the charity operations of the group.
It has been previously reported that the Supreme Court is already hearing petitions filed by approximately 46,000 homebuyers for cheating them and not delivering the properties they had paid for. In its recent order, the Supreme Court asked the real estate group to attach all of its properties besides those of its associate companies and their directors.
Dhoni said to the apex court that the company did not duly pay him for his services and claimed that a told amount of Rs 38.95 crore is due to him. "The builder, Amrapali Group, owes an amount in excess of Rs 38.95 crore of which Rs 22.53 crore is towards the principal amount and Rs 16.42 crore towards interest calculated at 18% simple interest per annum," the Chennai Super Kings skipper said.
Along with this, Dhoni attached copies of his agreements with the builder and said, "It was agreed that the firm will provide Amrapali Group with exclusive right to use his (Dhoni's) endorsement in connection with the advertisements, marketing and PR activities. Also it was categorically agreed that all the payments under the agreement was to be paid to the applicant (Dhoni) only."
On February 28, the Supreme Court had sent Amrapali Group chairman and managing director Anil Sharma and its two directors—Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar— to police custody for interrogation.
This news comes to light merely hours after Dhoni's Indian Premier League franchise CSK beat Delhi Capitals to notch up two consecutive victories in their first two matches of the 2019 edition of the T20 tournament. Dhoni is the only player in the history of the IPL to remain the captain of a single franchise in all its editions. The 37-year-old has captained CSK since the inception of the IPL in 2008.
MS Dhoni also remains an integral part of the Indian ODI side and the nation will look towards him to take responsibility of an inexperienced Indian middle order during the ICC World Cup in England which begins on May 30. India will play its first match of the quadrennial event on June 5 against South Africa at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
