[Watch] "That's where he's at his best" - CSK batting coach opens up on what sets MS Dhoni apart as captain

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Michael Hussey praised former skipper MS Dhoni for his ability to never panic and have meaningful one-to-one discussions with players in his hotel room. Dhoni is IPL's most successful captain, winning 133 out of 226 games at an incredible win percentage of almost 59.

He also led CSK to a joint-record five IPL titles, with Hussey playing a massive role with the bat in the first two in 2010 and 2011. Dhoni is also the sixth leading run-scorer in IPL history with 5,243 runs at an average of 39.12 and a strike rate of 137.53 in 264 matches.

In an episode of The Surge, Hussey opened up on the importance of captaincy by citing the MS Dhoni example.

Here is a video clipping of the same as shared by the KFC Big Bash League X handle:

"Even if you lost four games in a row, there'll be no panic whatsoever. He'll (Dhoni) keep trusting and backing the players that he likes and wants. When you are winning or losing, he's just very calm and even all the way along. He keeps it very quiet in the rooms, he doesn't like talking or inspiring or saying these big motivating speeches or anything like that. It's not his real way. What he loves doing is getting back to the hotel room. A lot of the players come up and sit in his room and have food and things like that. And that's where he is at his best," said Hussey.

He added:

"Talking quietly to the players one on one or he's got an amazing insight on the game but also on life. He looks at things a lot differently than what normal people would. I love sitting and listening to him talk and how he sees different situations. You just learn so much."

Dhoni relinquished the CSK captaincy duties to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the 2024 IPL season but continued as a player.

The franchise retained the veteran wicketkeeper ahead of the IPL 2025 auction as an uncapped player for ₹4 crores.

"If I play good cricket I don’t need PR" - MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is among the rare cricketers in the modern era that isn't regularly on Social Media. Yet, legendary wicket-keeper batter boasts of fandom very few past or present cricketers have matched.

He recently opened up about the same in a conversation on the Eurogrip Tyres YouTube channel by saying:

"I have never been a big fan of social media, throughout I had different managers and they used to keep me pushing. I started playing in 2004, so Twitter and Instagram was getting popular and the managers were saying you should do some PR build, this and that, but I had the same answer... if I play good cricket I don’t need PR." [via Sportstar]

Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020 with his final game for India coming in the 2019 ODI World Cup.

He led India to glory thrice in ICC events - 2007 T20 and 2011 ODI World Cups and the 2013 Champions Trophy.