Former India pacer Munaf Patel had a direct question for the cricketers who have spent the past year airing grievances about MS Dhoni’s dressing room culture.
“You were making hookah yourself, right? Why were you making it then? People have this issue that they had to go to his room and make hookah. If you had that self-respect, you should not have gone. Munaf Patel and Gautam Gambhir never did that. Ishant Sharma, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar never did that. Why are you fighting now for it?”
Munaf Patel, Vimal Kumar YouTube channel, July 2026
Patel, who shared a dressing room with Dhoni for approximately six years and won the 2011 World Cup alongside him, made the remarks in a conversation with sports journalist Vimal Kumar. His target was clear: Irfan Pathan and Manoj Tiwary.
The controversy traces back to an old interview Pathan gave to SportsTak, in which he implied that players who participated in Dhoni’s off-field hookah sessions were treated more favourably during his captaincy. Pathan did not name Dhoni directly, but the suggestion was understood widely enough that the clip went viral across social media in September 2025.
Manoj Tiwary followed with his own account, speaking to InsideSport around the same time. He confirmed the sessions existed, that players close to Dhoni attended them, and that being in the captain’s circle was widely understood to affect selection. Participation was not compulsory, he said, but the room was not truly open to everyone.
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Munaf’s response covered two things: Dhoni as a captain, and what he thought of the people now speaking about him.
On the field, he described Dhoni as straightforward and trusting. The captain let his bowlers follow their own plans and only stepped in when something was not working. On the controversy itself, he was unequivocal: no one was ever forced to attend those sessions, and multiple senior teammates chose not to, including himself.
“People talk a lot about MS Dhoni now. If you were true, you could have spoken back then. Now, after retiring, you can tell anything, but there is no point. You are just increasing your followers or putting him down.”
Munaf Patel, Vimal Kumar YouTube channel, July 2026
On Dhoni’s consistent silence throughout the controversy, Munaf was equally clear.
“Has he even replied to anyone till today? Imagine what would happen if he opens his mouth. His silence is his answer. He is not talking about anything, that is why he is Dhoni. You are sitting at home and making money from talking, so you tell anything.”
Munaf Patel, Vimal Kumar YouTube channel, July 2026
When the original Pathan clip went viral in September 2025, Pathan himself questioned on X why an old video was being recirculated with a new context.
Half decade old video surfacing NOW with a twisted context to the Statement. Fan war? PR lobby?
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 3, 2025
Pathan posted this from his verified X account on September 3, 2025. The tweet reached 2.9 million views. He did not deny the underlying implication of the original statement. No public response came from Dhoni.
Insider Read:
Munaf Patel’s defence is genuine. He was in that dressing room. He chose not to participate and he is correct that nobody was forced to attend.
But the players he names as proof deserve a closer look. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma.
These were not fringe members of that squad during the period in question. Their places in the XI were not under the same kind of scrutiny. For players at that level, staying outside the captain’s off-field circle carried no professional risk.
For a player on the margins, the calculation is different. Irfan Pathan was fighting to hold his place despite consistent performances. Manoj Tiwary scored a century in only his sixth ODI and found himself dropped shortly after.
Their argument was never that anyone forced them to attend. It was about what being close to the captain’s circle did for the players who chose to be in it.
The other part of Munaf’s challenge also needs to be understood in context. Asking why nobody spoke up at the time sounds reasonable from outside that environment.
Inside a playing group, particularly one you are still part of or trying to return to, publicly questioning a captain’s preferences is not something players do. Not because of any written rule. Because of how these environments work.
Not one player from that generation raised this while Dhoni was still in charge. That silence was not agreement. For many, it was the only practical option available.
The sessions happened. Nobody was forced to attend. And for some players on the fringes of that squad, how close they were to the captain’s circle may have shaped conversations that had nothing to do with what they were producing on the field.
Neither Irfan Pathan nor Manoj Tiwary has made a public statement in response to Munaf’s July 2026 interview. Dhoni has not commented on this controversy at any point.
Sources
- Munaf Patel, Vimal Kumar YouTube channel, July 2026 Vimal Kumar YouTube
- Irfan Pathan, X (@IrfanPathan), September 3, 2025
- Irfan Pathan on MS Dhoni Hookah Controversy, News18 SportsNext, September 4, 2025 YouTube Shorts
- Manoj Tiwary, InsideSport, September 2025
