"Some of them like the 'shisha', the flavoured tobacco stuff" - Former teammate reveals how CSK players socialise in MS Dhoni's room during IPL

Former Australia cricketer Mike Hussey revealed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend MS Dhoni's open-door policy with the squad, and how the players used to bond in his room while smoking 'shisha'. The former India captain was recently called out by Irfan Pathan and Manoj Tiwary for advocating such sessions in the national team setup as well.

MS Dhoni, in his lengthy stint as CSK captain since the first season, has been an influential figure in the dressing room. Even after stepping down as captain multiple times, he remains a vital cog of the franchise, with the squad looking up to his experience and caliber as a player and leader.

Players have admitted how MS Dhoni has played a massive role in their development while playing for CSK, and Hussey feels that the way he bonds with the players off the field plays a massive role.

"Dhoni is just the most amazing guy, his room is available open 24 hours a day. So, anyone can go up there, and just sit. He has got his lounge room, players just sit around, they start talking cricket, some of them like the 'shisha', you know the flavored tobacco stuff. So, that is their way of socializing and things like that. Credit to Dhoni, he opens his room up, lots of players go up, they bring food up, it is fantastic," Hussey said on The Overlap Cricket.

Much like Hussey, fellow Australian George Bailey had revealed in the past how MS Dhoni uses 'Hookah' as an outlet to bond with the youngsters in the team.

"He likes smoking a bit of the sheesha or the hookah. So, he quite often would set that up in his room, and it was very much open-door policy. You would go in and quite often find a lot of younger players there. For India or a lot of other cricket teams, it can be hierarchical, but he certainly broke that down," the former CSK player had said in a video posted by Cricket Australia in 2018 (via Hindustan Times).

MS Dhoni was recently retained as an uncapped player by the five-time winners ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. The legendary player has committed to playing his 19th consecutive season in the competition.

"The only time I've seen him catch a ball was when we wanted to knock in a new pair of gloves" - Mike Hussey on MS Dhoni in the nets during IPL

Mike Hussey recalled how MS Dhoni used to never work on his wicket-keeping skills during practice sessions, but instead used to devote all of his time in the nets to improve his power hitting.

"I've been a player at Chennai for 8 years, and now coach for about 8 years. I think the only time I've seen him catch a ball was when we wanted to knock in a new pair of gloves. I've never seen him practice his keeping ever, but he bats a long long time. He hits thousands and thousands of balls," Hussey revealed.

Even in the twilight stage of his career, MS Dhoni remains one of the best wicket-keepers in the IPL, if not the best. The veteran has hardly put a foot wrong when it comes to his catching, throwing, or reflexes with the gloves, putting in several stunning displays during the 2025 season.