"He could be talking to the Prime Minister or the cleaner and he'll talk in exactly the same way" - When Mike Hussey praised MS Dhoni the person
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Mike Hussey was a superb batter during his playing days, which even earned him the famous sobriquet of Mr. Cricket. But like so many other fans and former cricketers, the retired Aussie legend is also an admirer of MS Dhoni - the cricketer and the person.
Hussey represented CSK in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from the inaugural season of the T20 league in 2008 to 2013 and again in 2015. In 2018, he was appointed the franchise's batting coach and continues to play the role.
In a video from March this year, doing the rounds of social media, the 49-year-old is heard singing praises of the former Chennai Super Kings captain, hailing him for being a person with a good character. Hussey is heard saying:
"Yeah, I must say, playing with MS Dhoni has been one of the highlights on my career. As I said, he's a wonderful player and I really enjoyed watching him hit all those big sixes and being cool under pressure and winning us the games. But, I love him more as the person that he is - the character."
"One of his greatest strengths is, even he could be talking to the prime minister or he could he talking to the cleaner of the dressing room, and he'll talk to them in exactly the same way. He treats everyone equal. I think that's a good character. I hope he keeps playing on, next year, maybe another year, and maybe another year after that," the former Aussie cricketer goes on to add in the video.
Watch video below
The suspense around Dhoni's availability for IPL 2025 ended when he was retained by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the mega auction. CSK retained the veteran stumper as an uncapped Indian player for ₹4 crore. As per IPL's revised rules, any Indian cricketer who has not played international cricket for five years and does not have a central contract will be considered an uncapped player.
Mike Hussey's statistics for Chennai Super Kings
Hussey is the fifth-leading run-getter for the Chennai Super Kings franchise. In 64 matches (63 innings), he scored 2,213 runs at an average of 40.98 and a strike rate of 122.80, with one hundred and 17 fifties.
The left-handed batter's best of 116* came off 54 balls against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Mohali in April 2008. The knock featured eight fours and nine sixes. Overall, the 49-year-old played 161 T20 games, scoring 4,569 runs at an average of 37.45 and a strike rate of 124.90, with one ton and 35 fifties.