MS Dhoni in legal trouble? BCCI demands urgent response to controversial complaint

In a recent development, a complaint is reported to have been filed against the legendary India captain MS Dhoni. The name of the complainant is Rajesh Kumar Maurya, who is a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.

The complainant has filed the charges under Rule 39 of the BCCI Ethics Committee. Currently, Dhoni is involved in a case related to the INR 15 crore dispute with his former business partners Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Vishwash of Aarka Sports and Management Limited.

The management used to operate cricket academies under MS Dhoni's name. The allegations have been charged by Rajesh Kumar Maurya in this case.

Watch: Rahul Dravid transforms into a bowler after quitting India head coach job

BCCI asks MS Dhoni to file a response by August 30

According to the reports from DNA, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Ethics Committee has directed Dhoni to file an official response to Rajesh Kumar Maurya's complaint by August 30, 2024.

The committee has granted a deadline of September 16, 2024, to Rajesh Kumar Maurya to submit an official response to Dhoni's revert.

What is the case?

Dhoni had earlier filed a case against Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Vishwash in a Ranchi court earlier this year. It is believed that Mihir Diwakar signed an agreement with Dhoni to establish a cricket academy globally in 2017. However, Diwakar was unable to adhere to the specified conditions mentioned in the document.

According to the agreement's terms, Aarka Sports was obligated to pay a particular fee and share profits which the firm was unable to do. Despite various attempts, the terms and conditions specified in the agreement were not followed. As a result, Dhoni was forced to revoke the authority letter granted to Aarka Sports on August 15, 2021. MSD had also sent legal notices but did not get any response.

On March 20, 2024, the civil court in Ranchi found the case to be correct at the first impression during the hearing of the case. As a result, the court summoned Mihir Diwakar, Soumya Das, and Aarka Sports Management Pvt. Ltd.

Even at the conclusion of the agreement in 2021, MS Dhoni's name kept on being used by Aarka Sports Management. Dhoni's lawyer also claimed that the company opened seven cricket academies but no profit was shared to Dhoni.

As a result, the former India captain had suffered a loss of INR 15 crore. There have been no further statements from both parties so far but an official response is awaited from MS Dhoni's side.

MS Dhoni still an active cricketer

MS Dhoni played his last international match in 2019 and announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020. However, the 43-year-old is still playing in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings and is yet to announce his retirement from IPL.

He led Chennai Super Kings to five IPL titles but left the captaincy just a few days before IPL 2024 and passed it on to Ruturaj Gaikwad. The upcoming mega-auctions will be a big indicator of whether Dhoni continues to play IPL or not.