A new story from inside the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp has added another chapter to MS Dhoni’s unmatched legacy. Former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey has revealed how MS Dhoni created a relaxed and friendly atmosphere by keeping his hotel room open for the CSK players at any time of the day during the IPL.
Dhoni’s room has always been a special place where CSK players gathered to unwind, talk cricket, share food, and enjoy shisha together. The legendary wicketkeeper-batter has always been more than just a captain for the five-time IPL champions.
Michael Hussey reveals how MS Dhoni turned his room into a hub of bonding
Even after stepping down from the captaincy at different points, MS Dhoni remained the team’s biggest guiding force. Youngsters and seniors have often spoken about how Dhoni helped them grow as players.
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And Hussey believes that his off-field bonding was a big reason behind the strong unity in the camp, and it eventually made them one of the most successful franchises in the IPL.
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Hussey revealed that MS Dhoni’s room often turned into a hangout spot where players sat around comfortably, talking about the game or simply relaxing.
The former CSK batter and coach also shared that many enjoyed flavored shisha, which Dhoni allowed as a way to help everyone connect and feel at ease.
Some of them like the ‘shisha’: Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey said on The Overlap Cricket: “MS Dhoni is just the most amazing guy; his room is available and open 24 hours a day. So, anyone can go up there and just sit. He has got his lounge room; players just sit around, and 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.”
Even Australian cricketer George Bailey had also mentioned earlier that Dhoni used hookah sessions to break the typical hierarchy seen in many cricket teams, making youngsters feel included.
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Michael Hussey reveals MS Dhoni rarely practices wicketkeeping, focuses on power hitting
Another surprising detail Hussey revealed was about Dhoni’s training habits. Despite being one of the best wicketkeepers in the world, Dhoni rarely practiced with the gloves during training. Instead, he spent huge amounts of time in the nets working on his batting, hitting thousands of balls to improve his power-hitting.
Hussey signed off by saying, “I’ve been a player at Chennai for 8 years and now a 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.”
Even now, the former Indian captain continues to impress with sharp reflexes and clean glovework, proving why he is still considered one of the finest behind the stumps. Well, Dhoni, who was recently retained by CSK as an uncapped player ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction, is all set to play his 19th consecutive season next year.
