But it is not clear whether she would remain associated with the team in any other way, given that Rendezvous is planning to convert Pushkar’s sweat equity into paid salary and compensation — it seems she is keen on none
In what seems to be an obvious effort to bail out her friend Shashi Tharoor, Sunanda Pushkar has relinquished her Rs70-crore ‘sweat equity’ in the Rendezvous Sports World consortium.
In a statement made through her lawyer Ashish Mehta, Pushkar distanced herself from the Kochi team, saying: “I voluntarily offer to return to Rendezvous the sweat equity they had offered me. I do not intend to seek compensation for the efforts I have made so far for them. As the mother of a half-Malayali son, I wish Kerala cricket well and hope this team succeeds handsomely in IPL-4 and in the years to come.”
But it is not clear whether she would remain associated with the team in any other way, given that Rendezvous is planning to convert Pushkar’s sweat equity into paid salary and compensation — it seems she is keen on none. “Given the kind of controversy that has taken place, I assume she would not like to accept that,” Mehta told DNA.
Sources said Pushkar had been contemplating to surrender her sweat equity ever since the controversy picked up momentum.
But the other members of Rendezvous prevented her from doing so. Mehta said Pushkar’s decision has nothing to do with Tharoor. “This is her decision. Dr Tharoor is not at all the reason,” Mehta said.
A source said: “I think she can take it no more. She is highly disturbed given the unnecessary controversy that has risen due to her being Tharoor’s friend.”
He said Pushkar had more reasons than Tharoor to be associated with the Kochi franchise.
She was married to a Kerala businessman Sujeet Menon, who died in an accident, and her son is an avid cricket fan.
Pushkar in her statement said: “I am a professional with about 20 years of well-earned successful experience behind me. I am deeply distressed at the vile and malicious reporting of recent days surrounding my role in Rendezvous, the successful bidders for the Kerala IPL Team. I had been looking forward to contributing over the next 10 years to building the team’s brand, organising events for it and marketing the team in India and the Gulf, in particular. Given the deeply unpleasant publicity surrounding my involvement, I can no longer imagine being able to find the enthusiasm required to associate myself with any IPL activity in the foreseeable future.
“As a woman professional, I am shocked to find how easily certain parties with vested interests questioned my credentials merely because I am a woman.”
Rendezvous said they were distressed with Sunanda’s departure. “In any case, we want her to be associated with the team in the spirit of our original offer because of her professional skills in franchising, marketing and event management. We will need to discuss internally whether we can offer her professional terms (salary and compensation) if she does not want equity,” said Shailendra Gaikwad of Rendezvous. Rendezvous also said that “not a single rupee has been given to Pushkar so far. So there is no question of returning bribe”.
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