Former Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane shared MS Dhoni’s calm and approachable nature, saying that the former India captain was a simple person who kept his room open for teammates to gather and spend time together. He also shared that he maintained clear boundaries when the door was closed. Rahane, who announced his retirement from international cricket recently, made his debut across all three formats, T20Is, ODIs and Tests, under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. He also shared the dressing room with Dhoni during his stints with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023 and 2024 as well.

“He’s (MS Dhoni) very calm and cool and just a very normal human being like everyone. His room was almost always open for anyone to do anything. So many times, 10 to 15 of us, or even the whole team, were in his room. But when his door was shut, no one was allowed,” said Rahane on the Stick to Cricket podcast.

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He also revealed that he disconnects from social media during series to maintain focus. He said that the habit he developed was after advice from Ben Stokes in 2017 when they played together in the IPL. He shared that having a personal routine, including watching shows, reading, spending time with family, and preparing for the next day, helps him stay mentally refreshed for the game as well.

“I delete all the social media apps when the series is on. But no one advises us to, and that’s just my own advice to myself. I remember Ben Stokes advising me not to see social media in 2017 when we played together in the IPL. Creating a routine helped me individually deal with this once I am in my room. Just things like watching something on Netflix or some other app, reading a book, chatting to family, and ironing my clothes for the next day,” he concluded.