Former Chennai Super Kings player Sam Billings recently shared interesting information about MS Dhoni and his off-field lifestyle. Speaking about his experience of sharing the dressing room with the experienced wicketkeeper, Sam Billings highlighted his calm demeanor during the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Billings played two seasons, 2018 and 2019, for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. The England cricketer played 10 matches in the 2018 season, but played in only one game the following season. Overall, he scored 478 runs in 33 innings at an average of 17.07 and a strike rate of 129.90, including two half-centuries.
He’s got a guy to handle the glass – Sam Billings on MS Dhoni
Speaking on The Overlap Cricket, Sam Billings expressed his deep admiration for MS Dhoni. He said that the experienced captain remains down to earth and maintains a welcoming environment for all his teammates. Billings revealed that the former Indian captain travels with personal hookah equipment and hires a man to manage it.
“Dhoni – I think in terms of his captaincy and his aura – he is fantastic. He is incredibly calm and really nice. You don’t come across very nice people these days, but he is one of them.”
“What a lovely guy, especially considering how much stardom he has and how much of a superstar he is. His room is always open, and he even has a little shisha setup. There’s a guy in his entourage whose sole job is to look after the shisha bar.”
Chennai Super Kings ready for a solid comeback
Chennai Super Kings had an unforgettable IPL 2025 season. They finished at the bottom of the points table with just four wins from 14 matches. MS Dhoni took over the leadership responsibilities midway through the season after Ruturaj Gaikwad was out after only five matches.
The franchise management made an offseason trade with Rajasthan Royals. The team bought Sanju Samson while traded Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to RR. They have also retained several mid-season signings from last year, including Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis.
Apart from MS Dhoni and Sanju Samson, the five-time champions have three additional wicketkeepers. Urvil Patel, Sarfaraz Khan and Karthik Sharma can keep the stumps. The team will begin its IPL 2026 campaign against the Royals on March 30 at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
IPL 2026 could be the end of MS Dhoni’s T20 career
Many cricket experts believe that the IPL 2026 season could mark the end of MS Dhoni’s professional T20 career, although his availability for the entire tournament remains uncertain. Last season, the 44-year-old scored 196 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 135.17.
Dhoni holds the record for playing the most number of IPL matches, he has played 278 matches. He has scored 5,439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, including 24 fifties, with his highest score being 87 not out.
For Chennai Super Kings, he has appeared in 248 matches and remains the franchise’s leading run-scorer. He has scored 4,865 runs in 215 innings at an average of 39.23 and strike rate of 139.11, which includes 22 fifties, 342 fours and 234 sixes.
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