3 min readUpdated: Mar 17, 2026 04:34 PM IST
Former Chennai Super Kings player Sam Billings recently opened up about how he used to spend time with Mahendra Singh Dhoni watching Manchester United matches during his stay with the franchise from 2018-2019 where he was part of the title-winning sqaud.
“Dhoni. Has to be,” the English player answered in the Stick To Cricket podcast when he was asked who the best franchise player he has played with. “I just think in terms of his captaincy, his aura. He is fantastic. In terms of so incredibly calm and he is genuinely cool. There’s not many cool people. You don’t meet many cool people nowadays,” he said.
“But he is just what a lovely guy, considering how much stardom he has and so much of a superstar. Obviously a Man United fan like myself and so we’d watch every Man United game because he can’t leave the hotel, he can’t go downstairs to the hotel bar. He has a little shisha man who looks after the shisha. His sole job in his entourage is to look after that shisha pipe,” Billings added.
“He can’t go outside!” 😳
Imagine watching Man United with MS Dhoni! pic.twitter.com/boK5M3Sb3G
— Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) March 17, 2026
Meanwhile, as the IPL 206 season is set to start from March 28, all eyes will once again be on Dhoni and the familiar questions on whether this will be his last season will rear their heads. Dhoni has played all but two of these seasons for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and has pretty much been the primary face of the franchise, leading them to a record-equalling five titles.
Widely regarded as one of India’s greatest captains of all time, Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020. He then briefly stepped down as CSK captain ahead of the 2022 season before taking the reins back again from all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a month into it. While that season marked the first time CSK failed to make it to the playoffs, Dhoni led them to their fifth title the next year.
Speculation had been abound throughout the season about this being his last season in the IPL, with stadiums across the country being bathed in yellow and chanting for him whenever CSK played there. However, the wicketkeeper-batter has continued playing. He stepped down as captain ahead of the 2024 season, handing it over to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Dhoni was then captain again on an interim basis towards the latter stages of the 2025 season due to Gaikwad’s injury.
