It is no more in doubt that MS Dhoni is one of the most successful captains in the history of cricket. His love for the sport has never been questioned and he was loved by all, teammates, opponents and fans alike. The former India skipper is the only captain to win all three ICC trophies played during his tenure. He has also won the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy four times with his beloved Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
One of his former teammates, George Bailey, who played under Dhoni's captaincy at Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants, recently revealed in an interview that Dhoni was a fan of the Hookah and used it as an ice-breaker for the players in his team.
While speaking to Cricket.com.au, Bailey said that the wicketkeeper had an an open-door policy for players and if you ever went to his room, there would be a lot of younger players there. The hookah was Dhoni's way of 'breaking the ice'.
“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 lot of other cricket teams, it can be hierarchical, but he certainly broke that down,” Bailey told Cricket.com.au.
“You just find yourself in his room late at night chatting inevitably about the game or about different facets of the game or about different people and with different people it’s a great way to break down barriers."
The former Australian skipper played one season for CSK and one season for Rising Pune Supergiant. He also represented the erstwhile Kings XI Punjab and led them to the final of the 2014 edition, eventually losing to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Although there has been no official confirmation, many believe that this will be the last time that Dhoni will take the field for CSK. The upcoming edition of the IPL starts from March 31.
