Manoj Tiwary says MS Dhoni's 'Hookah' sessions was not compulsory - 'Smart players used to butter India captain'

Mayank Bande

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Manoj Tiwary says MS Dhoni's 'Hookah' sessions was not compulsory - 'Smart players used to butter India captain' image

In recent months, MS Dhoni has been in the news for no comment of his. An old interview of Irfan Pathan went viral, where he spoke about the how the ex-India captain organised hookah sessions for his teammates..

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While many players have spoken about the meet-ups since, it was a new topic of discussion. Pathan alleged that certain players met in the captain's room after the matches and consumed hookah, noting that Dhoni may have favoured those players when selecting the team.

As the discussions around the topic began to fade, former player Manoj Tiwary has now reignited the hot topic. He revealed more about what went on between the team behind the scenes during Dhoni's hookah sessions.

Manoj Tiwary opens up about MS Dhoni's Hookah sessions

Manoj Tiwary represented India from 2008 to 2015 in 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is, most of the matches under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.

During his conversation with InsideSport, Tiwary revealed that players used the opportunity to get into the good books of Dhoni and possibly receive some edge during selection.

While Tiwary has expressed disappointment at getting dropped from the Indian team on multiple occasions, the former player did not accuse the ex-India skipper of any favoritism.

"We have seen from close quarters. There were sessions where hookah was taken, and a lot of players were there, who were close ones. There were some players at that time smart enough to make sure that some buttering was done to get help from the captain if required," he revealed.

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"It was not compulsory for everyone to be there, only the players who knew that the room is open for hookah would go, and the players who were smart enough to know that and were in the close quarters of the captain at the time knew that the door would be open for everyone. Slowly, when the discussion came out of the room the next day,  then only others got to know. It was not restricted, but it was open," Tiwary concluded.

Apart from the Indian team, Tiwary also played alongside the wicketkeeper batter during his one-season stint with the Rising Pune Supergiants.

He announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket in February 2024, concluding his illustrious domestic career with 10195 FC runs at an average of 47.86 and scoring 30 centuries.

In his 169-match List A career, he scored 5581 runs at an average of 42.28.

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    Mayank Bande

    Mayank Bande has been a content producer at The Sporting News since 2023 and has extensive experience in cricket writing. His work has previously appeared on platforms like OneCricket and Last Word on Sports. Beyond cricket, Mayank closely follows football as an FC Barcelona supporter, along with tennis and Olympic sports. Despite holding a degree in Business Administration, he chose to pursue a career in sports, bringing sharp analysis to his writing as someone who once played cricket.