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Last Published: Sat, Oct 01 2016. 01 40 AM IST

Bunty Sajdeh: The super-agent

The founder of Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment and the man behind brand Virat Kohli, on the slow process of crafting a sportsman’s image

Bunty Sajdeh. Illustration: Shyamal Banerjee/Mint

Bunty Sajdeh. Illustration: Shyamal Banerjee/Mint

 

The peaceful outdoors section of The Village Shop, a café that faces a church in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra, is an odd place for Bunty Sajdeh to be this Saturday afternoon. As we speak, much of his mind is on other events, which are taking place in a far more hectic environment. Five of the players his talent management company, Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment, represents are playing a hard game of Test cricket against New Zealand in the sweltering Kanpur heat (which India won).

Cornerstone, which Sajdeh founded in 2008, is now an agency that represents sportsmen exclusively; it manages Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay and Umesh Yadav, all of whom are in the current Indian Test team, as well as Ishant Sharma, who is likely to be in it as soon as he is fully fit. But it is not as if he simply looks at who the most talked-about cricketers are and then tries to sign them up.

“We scout players when they’re young,” says Sajdeh, 38. “It’s easy to look at Virat today and say he’s a rock star, but I spotted him back during the 2008 Under-19 World Cup and signed him up before he became a regular for India.”

 

 

Sajdeh and his team are constantly tracking the Indian domestic circuit, looking for cricketers who display consistency in performance, but also confidence and flair in their personalities.

“When I first saw Virat, during an Under-19 match in Malaysia, he didn’t actually get that many runs. But what struck me was the way he spoke confidently to everyone around him and took charge of situations. You have to have that bit of personality we can work on. You can’t be a complete introvert,” he says.

Now, Cornerstone has young cricketers Shreyas Iyer, Manan Vohra, Mayank Dagar and Vijay Zol on its roster.

The role of the player agent in Indian sport gained prominence in the 1990s, when Mark Mascarenhas ensured that Sachin Tendulkar was pasted on our television screens, making him one of the highest paid sportsmen in the world. Before the endorsements and corporate sponsorships start pouring in, however, you have to carefully craft a player’s image, turning him from someone people respect to someone whose lifestyle people crave, whose shoes, watch, jacket and soft drink of choice people will line up to buy.

This is what Sajdeh wants to do, and he tells every player he meets that the process takes time. “We signed Ajinkya three months ago, after six years of talking to him,” he says. “I told him that for the first six months, I am not going to push brands to seek his endorsement because right now he is someone who is known only for his cricket. There is a lot more to him, and we want to create a bit of edginess around his image and display that to the media in the coming months.”

A big part of building a player’s image these days is managing their interactions with fans on social media. Sajdeh admits he is not digitally savvy, but has a great social media team that manages players’ accounts, analysing data from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to determine what kinds of posts excite people.

“Fans don’t want to see photos of a player on the field. They want to know more about the player off the field. So we will send a team to a player’s home when he has a couple of days off and take photos of him with his pet, or his mum or him cooking something, and then release those images at appropriate times,” he says. They always ask for the player’s approval before posting something, though, and let them word the post themselves. “Fans are smart and can tell when someone has ghost-written something,” Sajdeh explains.

 

Sajdeh wakes up at 6 every morning and is in the gym at 7am. Working out is his way of de-stressing. He often takes one- or two-day holidays, for he finds it difficult to deal with Mumbai’s chaos. His passions include cars, watches and gaming.

 

So detailed is his curation of his clients’ public personas that he even invests in styling them for public functions. “If an athlete has to attend an awards function and I get him an Armani suit and a hair-cut from a professional stylist, it gives him confidence and changes the way he carries himself, which pays dividends in the end.”

It is rather ironic to listen to Sajdeh talk about expensive suits, as he readily admits he rarely wears them. He showed up for our meeting in black jeans and a blue T-shirt. And even this, he says, is more colour than you will usually see on him.

“My standard work and evening attire is the same: a white or black T-shirt with jeans. I work long hours every day and need to be comfortable.” But he is not embarrassed about his personal style, maintaining that even simple attire can become a talking point when worn with confidence, something he keeps telling the players he represents.

His aversion to keeping up with fashion trends is actually what got him into talent management. After completing his bachelor’s in commerce from the HR College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, he worked in his family’s garment business, but found it tedious and uninspiring. His sister’s husband, actor Sohail Khan, ran GS Worldwide Entertainment, a company that does everything from producing films to organizing events to representing film and sports personalities. A people-person, Sajdeh joined the firm as a production assistant and enjoyed doing a job that had personal relationships at its core.

After two years with GS Entertainment, he joined Percept Ltd, forming a close relationship with cricketer Yuvraj Singh, whom the company managed. It was Singh and actor Sushmita Sen, another of Sajdeh’s clients, who encouraged him to start his own business. And, after a three-year stint at Globosport, he “woke up one morning and decided to just do it”.

In 2009, Singh introduced him to Kohli. “The Indian Premier League was being held in South Africa that year, and I was in Johannesburg doing some work for Yuvraj’s foundation,” Sajdeh recalls. “We were at a restaurant, and Virat came in wearing a flashy jacket and sunglasses. I remember thinking, ‘What are you doing? You’re an athlete, not a model.’”

Kohli only spoke to Sajdeh for around 10 seconds, but by the next year they were working together. At that stage, Cornerstone was managing film personalities as well as sportsmen, but Sajdeh wanted to focus on the latter.

“To be honest, even though I have a lot of friends and family from the film world, I don’t think I have watched a movie in five years,” he says. “I realized that most of my team was more interested in sport than anything else too, so I thought, why don’t we focus exclusively on it? It was also a space that none of the other firms were in.”

Apart from cricketers, Sajdeh has also signed up motorsport racer Jehan Daruvala, body builder Miihier Singh and footballer Sunil Chhetri. Football is actually his favourite sport, and Manchester United his favourite team.

Over the years, Sajdeh has formed a close personal bond with the players he manages. “Some of those friendships have ended in hurt,” he admits. “But you can’t help getting close to the players as ours is a relationships business.” A lot of the athletes treat him like an elder brother, asking for advice on what car or house to buy or what to do when they are having “girl problems”. “When work is over, we all chill together. They treat me not like an agent, but like family.”

First Published: Fri, Sep 30 2016. 10 18 AM IST

 

Edited by Praggy
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Why is this suspicious, Rohit is married to Buntys sister, also Rohit n Virat have their interest with the firm, Rahane, Ishant, and most of the players who seem to find this way in playing 11 , Yuvi, Ishant, suspiciously are signed up with the firm, conflict of interest, something shady.

Why is still Rahane being persued in ODI despite being dismal, same with Yuvi, Ishant manages to sneak in most times, project Rohit in test at the cost of Pujara? It has to be seriously investigated, n in this atmosphere how will new talented players be given rightful go in the team n playing 11, was Kumble also frustrated about the groups interests, why is Kohli so protective about the group?

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Shooot.. no wonder I see so much inconsistency in Virat's behavior on the field and off the field. It is all PR thing.. I've never seen a sports personality so edgy on field but totally calm and compose in press conference. I dont think its easy to turn on and off switch that easily. Not sure if its good or bad but now it makes sense... its all about selling a brand.

 

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But Ishant Sharma is out. Are we saying that Kohli will drop "injury prone", "not enouugh match practice", "allready marrieand has kids"  pacer and replace him with Ishant Sharma? Or Ishant Sharma is just that one guy who will be used by Kohli Superfans to justify that above story is baseless?

Edited by mishra
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3 minutes ago, mishra said:

But Ishant Sharma is out. Are we saying that Kohli will drop "injury prone", "not enouugh match practice", "allready married with kids"  and replace him with Ishant Sharma? Or Ishant Sharma is just that one guy who will be used by Kohli Superfans to justify that above story is baseless?

You see these r facts, we do not know if these are effecting the equation as far as getting into the playing 11, same thing happened during Dhonis tenure he had business interest n joing a firm which was run by his friend n many Indian players who regularly found themselves in CSk n Indian playing 11 were also signed up for the same firm so makes you think,nepotism yes there is a scope for it, even the US president has to be the member of Skills n bones or some connected group to be in the frame for Presidency

19 minutes ago, Khota said:

This is a joke. They are using cricket to enrich themselves.

What do you mean?

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Rediff HomeSPORTS
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Rediff.com » Sports

Dhoni's friend Pandey's gigantic leap with Rhiti Sports
June 04, 2013 19:03 IST

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Just after the spot-fixing scandal broke out, the BCCI working committee discussed at length about a necessary clamp down on players' agents and president N Srinivasan spoke about the need to provide accreditation to agents.

What Srinivasan overlooked is that his franchise's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's best friend and manager Arun Pandey's omnipresence that managed to raise a fair number of eyebrows.

- 'Dhoni's market value similar to that of Tiger Woods'

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As he manages a lot of India players with the star draw being his best buddy Dhoni, a lot of cricketers and officials jokingly call him "Agent Arun".

When BCCI talks about players maintaining a distance from their agents during cricketing commitments, a small-time left-arm spinner Pandey, clad in Chennai Super Kings' practice gear was rolling his arm over at the Feroze Shah Kotla nets in 2012.

04pandey.jpgThis was prior to Delhi Daredevils' IPL home game against the Chennai Super Kings. Pandey, who certainly wasn't a part of the support staff, was seen bowling for close to 45 minutes.

Pandey came in touch with Dhoni when he played a couple of matches for Bihar in the early part of last decade. The friendship strengthened as Dhoni, who was then cutting his teeth in first-class cricket used to come to Delhi to play some local tournaments and often stayed at Pandey's place.

Once Dhoni became a megastar in Indian cricket, Pandey reaped the dividends in the reflected glory of the Indian captain. So much so, that he even appeared in a television commercial for a cement brand along with Dhoni and RP Singh. When Pandey reportedly signed Dhoni for a whopping amount for his company Rhiti Sports, it instantly grabbed eyeballs as no one knew what Pandey's locus standi was in terms of managing players and their finances.

RP Singh might have severed professional ties with Rhiti now, but those who covered the Ranji Trophy match between Uttar Pradesh and Railways at Mohan Meakin ground in Ghaziabad in 2011, saw Pandey come with a huge birthday cake at the end of the day's play.

The cake was cut at players' makeshift dining area and it was supposed to be exclusively for the players and officials. No one questioned about what an "outsider" was doing there as the match was still on.

Pandey's claim to fame in cricketing circles, courtesy Dhoni, has come fast but the skipper now faces some uncomfortable questions since the suspicions of conflict of interest has cropped up.

Image: Arun Pandey (left) with Sakshi Dhoni

Photograph: BCCI

© Copyright 2017 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

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Ex-cricketers blast Dhoni over Rhiti Sports

author-deafault.pngPTI
NEW DELHI, JUNE 04, 2013 15:48 IST
UPDATED: JUNE 04, 2013 15:49 IST
 
 

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has come under sharp attack from some former cricketers for his alleged conflict of interest for having stakes in the sports management company, which handles him and three of his Indian teammates.

Dhoni found himself in a controversy when it came to light that he had 15 per cent stake in Rhiti Sports, which also manages Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Pragyan Ojha, besides the Indian captain.

However, the firm has made it clear that Dhoni was a shareholder only for a brief period, and currently has no stakes.

But former Indian cricketers and sports management executives feel that Dhoni should not put himself in such a position where questions could be raised about a possible conflict of interest.

“Obviously, the documents that have come out indicates that it has been a conflict of interest as far as Dhoni’s involvement with Rhiti Sports is concerned,” former cricketer Kirti Azad told PTI.

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“I don’t mind if an ex-cricketer is acting as an agent for a living. But when I see Pragyan Ojha being relegated to second choice left-arm spinner suddenly and Ravindra Jadeja being valued at USD 2 million after being banned for trying to cut underhand deals in IPL, I guess something is wrong.

“Also if the company didn’t have sufficient money, how did they issue shares and paid it back,” Azad pointed out.

Another former cricketer Maninder Singh also felt if the captain indeed had shares it was a clear case of conflict of interest.

“But who do you expect to stop the rot when the BCCI president has gone against everyone who has stood up for the game...basically the president has been saving the captain who is also vice-president in his company,” he said.

Former India opener Chetan Chauhan said ethically it was not correct for Dhoni to have stakes in the company, which manages him.

“Ethically this is not correct. It seems to be trickling down from the president. The Board officials need to take some harsh decisions and make it clear what business the players and officials can float of their own,” he said.

Madan Lal said that it was not proper for Dhoni to have stakes in the company but did not think he could manipulate team selection.

“There is no question that if it is true, there is a conflict of interest,” he said.

VVS Laxman felt that the Indian skipper should sell off his shares, if he had any, as it could drive him into a compromising situation.

“When such a problem arises, stakeholder should come out of the company by selling his shares off. I think that can solve all the problems at one go,” he said.

 
 
 
 

 

Edited by Praggy
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21 minutes ago, Khota said:

There is so much conflicyt of interest. If useless players like Dhoni and Yuvraj keep on playing Sajdeh makes more money. It is complex bs they are doing.

Clearly what is happening is not in the best interest of cricket, every captain has interest in a Player management firm n those players seem to get into playing eleven with ease n unchallenged , now makes sense why Dhoni was stubborn n same team was his motto, when those players who were not so good then we're represented by Rhiti, RP Singh was picked up undeservingly outta nowhere, Raina was picked up for test, Jadeja when mediocre initially never dropped.

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7 minutes ago, MCcricket said:

Clearly what is happening is not in the best interest of cricket, every captain has interest in a Player management firm n those players seem to get into playing eleven with ease n unchallenged , now makes sense why Dhoni was stubborn n same team was his motto, when those players who were not so good then we're represented by Rhiti, RP Singh was picked up undeservingly outta nowhere, Raina was picked up for test, Jadeja when mediocre initially never dropped.

Exactly!

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4 hours ago, mishra said:

But Ishant Sharma is out. Are we saying that Kohli will drop "injury prone", "not enouugh match practice", "allready marrieand has kids"  pacer and replace him with Ishant Sharma? Or Ishant Sharma is just that one guy who will be used by Kohli Superfans to justify that above story is baseless?

Ishant still playing tests. He was dropped from Odis only during dhoni's time

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No use of talking about rhiti sports drama, as we are past it.  Focus should be on Bunty and bubbli Sajdeh, if there is any conflict of interest, we need to do some sting operation and yield the culprits out once and for all.

 

Every rumor should be taken seriously, yes we can't judge anyone until any proof but we need to take it seriously and keep a check on these folks as they can kill Indian cricket.

 

 

 

 

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