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Rendevous ex-CEO denies investing single rupee in team

Gaikwad said he enjoyed good relations with some cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar but it was due to his interest in cricket.

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Reiterating what his sister Pratibha had told DNA on Tuesday, Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) former CEO Shailendra alias Pradeep Gaikwad, who allegedly holds free equity estimated Rs292 crore in the Kochi IPL team, maintained on Wednesday that his family has not invested a single rupee in its bid.

Gaikwad chose to return to his hometown to speak at a press meet organised by the Solapur Shramik Patrakar Sangh. He said his family immensely valued its “old ties” with Union minister Sharad Pawar.

He said Rendezvous was paid 26% sweat equity “as remuneration for looking after the administration, management and marketing of the team”.

Evading questions about his friendship with Sachin Tendulkar, Gaikwad said it was his passion for the game that brought him close to the cricket star and his pal, Vinod Kambli.

Without giving any details, Gaikwad said he had “a few businesses relating to cricket”. It was he who had created a business model while bidding for the Kochi IPL team and had presented his vision to the investors who purchased stakes in the team, he said.

Even the security deposit of Rs46 crore was furnished by the investors and was not invested by the Gaikwad family, he said.

The Rendezvous CEO also emphasised that his elder brother Ravindra who is employed in the Maharashtra government’s transport department, did not have anything to do with the Kochi IPL team.

Gaikwad blamed the media and unnamed persons for casting aspersions on him. “The media and some people are unable to digest the fact that a middle-class person like me can own an IPL team. The media has tarnished my family’s image out of ignorance and has presented imaginary figures about my stakes in the entire transaction,” he said.

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