MS Dhoni (BCCI/IPL photo) NEW DELHI: Former Chennai Super Kings player Sam Billings has shared an interesting behind-the-scenes story of MS Dhoni during his IPL stint. Billings recalled how Dhoni created a relaxed, social environment in the team despite his superstar status.Billings revealed in the podcast that Dhoni had a unique device in his hotel room, including a dedicated person to manage his hookah.
Watch
Mithali Raj on the rise of Indian women’s cricket“Dhoni. He has to be… I think just in terms of his captaincy, his aura,” Billings said. “He’s fantastic. So unbelievably calm about it. And he’s really cool. You don’t meet many great people these days, really. What a lovely guy considering how big a star he has and how much of a superstar he is. Obviously a Man United fan like me.”He added: “So we watched every Man United game. He can’t leave the hotel, he can’t go down to the hotel bar and he would get a lot of guys. His room is open and he has a little ‘shisha man’ who looks after Shisha. His only job is to look after Shisha.”
“This is why I don’t see a role for MS Dhoni”: AB de Villiers
“I feel in the last few years his role has been purely about keeping the brand as strong as possible. So I don’t see a role for him to bat at eight or nine and not do enough like last season,” De Villiers was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.“We know he can be impressive with the bat, but if he’s batting that low and he’s not the captain, it feels like he’s almost just filling in for the wrong reasons. There’s still room for him, but he needs to bat higher, at least at six, sometimes even at five or four.”“I feel Ruturaj and Sanju are the perfect players to take over after MS (Dhoni). My only problem is where MS fits in and if he doesn’t have that much of an impact batting at 4, 5, 6 ever, then get out of the team,” De Villiers said, adding: “Get someone else who can then mix and bat and have a bigger impact on MS in the game. keep leading guys.”
