There is a side of MS Dhoni that rarely makes headlines. Former England wicketkeeper Sam Billings offered a glimpse behind the curtain this week, painting a picture of the CSK veteran off duty.
“He’s a Manchester United fan. We watched every United game because you can’t leave the hotel and go down to the hotel bar. He keeps his hotel room open. He has a little shisha man who takes care of the shisha,” Billings said.
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It is a familiar scene for those who have shared the dressing room with Dhoni. Former batting coach of Australia Michael Hussey echoed the same sentiment in The Overlap earlier.
“His room is available, open 24 hours a day. Anyone can go in there and just sit. The players just sit, start talking cricket, some of them like hookah. That’s their way of socialising,” Hussey recalled.
For someone who has been in the public eye for two decades, Dhoni’s way of decompressing is straightforward enough. Open doors, United match and good company.
DHONI IS GOING NOWHERE
Outside the field, hookah and football. Another IPL season beckons. Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan confirmed ahead of IPL 2026 that Dhoni will be available for the entire campaign.
“He will play matches, all matches,” Viswanathan told reporters in Chennai.
The general manager left the question of his exact role to the coaching staff. “That is a cricketing decision that will be made by the cricket staff. He will decide whether to play as a batsman, a wicket-taker or an Impact Player,” he added.
Dhoni trained in Chennai along with his teammates after the previous matches at the nets in Ranchi. At the age of 44, questions about how long he will continue have become a fixture of every IPL build-up.
He didn’t reveal much. But then he rarely does.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
March 18, 2026 12:09 PM IST
