Who is Arun Pandey: MS Dhoni’s friend, former manager and the man behind his Rs 1,000 crore empire

As per the latest reports, the former India skipper and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper is the only cricketer in the world apart from Virat Kohli to have a net worth of over Rs 1,000 crore – Rs 1,050 crore to be precise. Apart from earning around Rs 12 crore per annum from CSK every IPL season, Dhoni has invested in various companies like Khatabook, Cars24, Shaka Harry and Garuda Aerospace.

But one man has been behind Dhoni’s rise to Rs 1,000 crore empire and that is his friend and manager Arun Pandey. The man described himself as a ‘friend, well-wisher and family member’ of MS Dhoni for more than a decade.

Arun Pandey was the founder of Rhiti Group in 2007, co-owned by MS Dhoni. “With sports in my soul, I founded Rhiti Group, an integrated sports and entertainment conglomerate, in 2007 to make sports and entertainment an essential part of daily life. My contribution to image consulting and brand management services has revolutionized sports and celebrity management in India,” Pandey writes on the LinkedIn platform.

At one point, Rhiti Group represented badminton star Saina Nehwal as well as Team India cricketers like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh. Rhiti Sports also had the marketing rights for Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.

Arun Pandey is a resident of Varanasi

Arun Pandey like MS Dhoni comes from humble beginnings and was a left arm spinner hailing from Varanasi. Pandey also played state level cricket for Uttar Pradesh. He is a graduate of the famous Banaras Hindu University.

According to a report in ET, Pandey spent time at music and film company T-Series, which created a launchpad for him. In 2007, Dhoni licensed Pandey to negotiate endorsement deals on his behalf. According to ET newspaper, Pandey made four deals worth Rs 13.5 crore. At that time, he was getting around Rs 25 crore from Dhoni’s other deals (about 15 of them).

Dhoni chose Arun Pandey over IMG, Percept and World Sports Group

In 2010, just before the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni’s contract with Sports Management was about to expire. With leading companies like IMG, Percept, World Sports Group, PMG Sports and Planman Consulting among others vying to bring Dhoni home, the Indian skipper went with Pandey and his Riti Sports.

The former India captain and wicketkeeper took a 15.1 per cent stake in Rhiti Group – raising the issue of ‘conflict of interest’ as Dhoni was still an active member of Team India as well as the captain.

Pandey went on to market the name of ‘Dhoni’ by creating ‘Sportsfit’ and even a Bollywood film which went on to become a blockbuster – ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’. Pandey was the co-producer of this Dhoni biopic.

Dhoni may have parted ways with Pandey when it comes to his business interests over the years, but there is no doubting the fact that it was Arun Pandey who catapulted MS Dhoni’s off-field business interests into that stratospheric realm , who they are today.