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England’s Sam Billings revealed that MS Dhoni hired a ‘Shisha Man’ for his hotel rooms during the IPL.
Former CSK captain MS Dhoni.
(AFP)
England international and former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings has revealed that MS Dhoni employed a ‘Shisha Man’ for his hotel rooms during the IPL. Billings said the employee’s sole job was to take care of the Shisha (or Hookah), a water pipe used to smoke tobacco.
Billings was part of CSK for the IPL 2018 and 19 seasons, playing 11 matches for 108 runs. He made the reveal on the Stick to Cricket show. One of the hosts, David Lloyd, asked him about the best franchise cricketer he had played with, and Billings named Dhoni, before describing him as a ‘genuinely cool’ man, saying they bonded over their common love for the Manchester United football club.
“Dhoni. Has to be… I think just in terms of his captaincy, his aura,” Billings said on the podcast. “He’s fantastic. In terms of just so incredibly calm. And he’s genuinely cool. You don’t meet many cool people nowadays, really. What a lovely guy, considering how much stardom he has and how much of a superstar. Obviously, a Man United fan, like myself. And so we’d watch every Man United game. He can’t leave the hotel, can’t go downstairs to the hotel bar, and he’d get a load of the lads. His room is open, and he has a little ‘Shisha man’ who looks after the Shisha. His sole job is to look after the Shisha.”
While smoking Shisha is not illegal or restricted in India — it’s in fact, quite popular in some cultures — it’s generally looked at in as bad a light as cigarette smoking and is considered as harmful for health, too.
While Billings’ comments are harmless admiration, former cricketers like Manoj Tiwary have described these Shisha sessions as a way for some players to gain influence in Dhoni’s decision-making in the Indian national team. In September last year, Tiwary said those who stayed close to Dhoni or tried to please him may have had better chances of staying in the playing 11, hinting at favouritism.
March 17, 2026, 16:57 IST
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