'He likes smoking a bit' - George Bailey's old clip revealing MS Dhoni's liking for hookah resurfaces

MS Dhoni is one of the most revered cricketers of all time. He retired from international cricket in 2020 and has been playing only in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since then. However, his craze among the cricket enthusiasts has not diminished one bit.

In a recent video that has gone viral on the internet, the legendary wicketkeeper-batter is seen puffing on a hookah pipe in a social gathering. The cricket fraternity has come out with contrasting opinions on the incident. Some have found it difficult to accept that the 42-year-old would be smoking hookah in public so casually while others think that it was flavoured hookah that the Ranchi-born was enjoying.

Meanwhile, an old video from Cricket Australia (CA) has resurfaced. The aforementioned video was uploaded on CA's official YouTube channel five years ago to pay tribute to Dhoni, who had just led India for the 200th time in the 50-over format.

In the video, then-Australia ODI captain George Bailey spoke about Dhoni's fondness for the "Sheesha or the hookah". The former Aussie batter played under Dhoni's leadership at the Chennai Super Kings in 2009 and 2010. Bailey spoke about how the inspirational captain would set up hookah in his room and other players would also be welcomed. They would chat about the different facets of the game while smoking the hookah.

"I think he may have incorporated this with the Indian team, too. I mean, he likes smoking a bit of the sheesha or the hookah. So, he would quite often set that up in his room and it was very much open-door policy," Bailey said in the video.

"Go in and you would quite often find a few of the younger players there and I think for the Indian team or possibly for a lot of cricket teams, it could be quite hierarchal and sort of things. But he broke that down. So, you just find yourself in his room, late at night, chatting inevitably about the game or different facets of the game or about different people, and with different people. It's just a great way to break down barriers," Bailey added.

Fans are waiting with bated breath to see MS Dhoni step onto the field again. He will be leading Chennai in the upcoming edition of the IPL. This is expected to be Dhoni's last assignment as a professional player and fans are anxiously waiting to give him a farewell for the ages.