Despite being away from cricketing action since the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season earlier this year, MS Dhoni made headlines in Indian cricket earlier this week after finding himself at the center of a controversy. This came after an old interview of former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan resurfaced on social media, where he spoke about the communication gap surrounding his exclusion from the national side in 2008, and suggested that then-captain Dhoni only favored players “who set up hookahs for him.”
“Yes, I asked him. During the 2008 Australia series, Mahi bhai’s statement came out in the media that Irfan wasn’t bowling well. I thought I had bowled well throughout the series, so I went and asked Mahi bhai,” Pathan had said in the interview with Sports Tak. “I don’t have a habit of setting up a hookah in someone’s room or talking about this. Everyone knows. Sometimes, if you don’t speak about it, it’s better. A cricketer’s job is to perform on the field, and that is what I used to focus on.”
Amid the controversy, Yograj Singh, father of former India legend Yuvraj Singh, lashed out at Dhoni, accusing him of “guilty silence.” He further named former cricketers Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh, along with Irfan, saying they had all been mistreated by Dhoni.
“It is not only about Irfan Pathan. You see Gautam Gambhir speaking about it. Virender Sehwag openly said about it as well. Harbhajan Singh spoke about how he was put out of the team like a fly. You should arrange a jury on why he did what he did. MS Dhoni doesn’t want to answer. One who doesn’t want to answer has a guilty conscience,” Yograj told InsideSport.
The former India cricketer went on to allege that, like Dhoni, Kapil Dev and Bishan Singh Bedi also mistreated their teammates, accusing them of “destroying” the careers of players and teams.
“I talk about Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni. I can talk about people whom I have been with. They have treated people like s**t. Jo galat hai wo galat hai. Two wrongs cannot make one right. I say this openly, that our cricketers and team were destroyed by our captain.“
Although Dhoni has yet to address the claims linked to the hookah controversy, Pathan reacted on X on Wednesday, saying: “Half decade old video surfacing NOW with a twisted context to the statement. Fan war? PR lobby?”