Bangalore, June 3: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been facing criticism over his silence on IPL spot fixing scandal, landed in a new controversy over his business deal with one sports marketing firm -- Rhiti Sports Management.

The firm, in which Dhoni had bought a 15% stake, was set up by his close friend and business associate Arun Pandey. The firm manages business deals of cricketers including Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh.

Now, Dhoni's business deals with the firm have come under scanner following a report published by The Economic Times (ET). The daily in its report raised two questions -- being Team India captain, both One Day International (ODI) and Test cricket, is it right for Dhoni to put his suggestions before team selecting committee?

The daily claims that Dhoni's stake in Rhiti, puts him in the conflicting position where he has a 15% share of the profits earned by Rhiti Sports from managing these four players, even as he opines or votes on them in team selection meetings as the Indian captain.

The report also raised questions regarding Dhoni's role as captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. Dhoni is a Vice-President of India Cements which is owned by BCCI chief N Srinivasan and the the company also owns CSK.

The ET report also points out that after eight consecutive Test losses suffered by India in Jan 2012, Srinivasan reportedly used his veto powers as president to stop a 3-2 vote in the selection committee to remove Dhoni as captain and player from the Test team.

Two cricketers -- Raina, Jadeja play for CSK and once again Dhoni's conflict of interest has come under scanner. Joint secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) -- Anurag Thakur said, "I have heard it for the first time. If there is a concern, we may look into the matter."

According to the report, Dhoni did not respond to questionnaire sent to him via mail. Srinivasan has already stepped aside from BCCI's day-to-day activities. His son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was known as CSK owner, is in jail over his alleged role in IPL spot fixing row. Now, it might be a tough time for Dhoni to face upcoming time.

OneIndia News