India’s limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been duped by one of the many brands he endorses - Spartan Sports - of over £2 million. It has been reliably learnt that a three-year bat and sponsorship deal worth £1.3 million has gone sour with Australia-based Spartan Sports, a sporting gear and equipment company, regularly defaulting on payments. With the royalty clause on Dhoni’s bat deal included, the owed amount goes well over £2 million. Sources in legal firm advising Rhiti Sports, Dhoni’s management company, said that Kunal Sharma-owned Spartan has paid only four instalments since the deal was struck in December 2013, the latest payment being made in March 2016. When asked why the deal has gone awry, Rhiti Sports boss Arun Pandey did not elaborate before saying that, “everything is not smooth and hopefully the matter will be resolved soon”.
