“We have seen from close quarters” - Ex-Indian cricketer makes a startling revelation on MS Dhoni’s hookah controversy

Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has opened up on the ‘hookah gang’ controversy in Indian team when MS Dhoni was the captain. The matter has been trending on social media ever since Irfan Pathan’s five-year-old comments went viral recently.

Several other former players including Yograj Singh have also alleged that favouritism was at its peak when Dhoni was the captain of the team. Tiwary has also backed those claims now stating that the players knew it would help their case if they side with the captain in such activities.

“We have seen from close quarters. There were sessions where Hookah was taken and players who were closer to the captain were present in the room. Players were very smart enough to make sure that some buttering was done to get help from the captain if required,” Tiwary said while speaking to InsideSport.

Hookah thing wasn’t compulsory for anyone, says Tiwary

Notably, Manoj Tiwary is one of the many Indian cricketers to not get many chances to prove his mettle at the international level despite performing well. He played only 12 ODIs and three T20Is despite having strong record in domestic cricket. He scored a century in just his sixth ODI but was dropped soon after.

Even though he made a comeback later during the 2014-15 season, it was short-lived and his career ended then. He made his debut under MS Dhoni’s captaincy and also played alongside him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS).

Coming back to his comments on Hookah sessions, Tiwary also revealed that the players were smart enough to know who was close to MS Dhoni.

“It was not compulsory for anyone to be there, and only the players who knew that the room was open for Hookah, were the players who used to go. The players were smart enough to know who was within close quarters with the captain at that point of time,” Tiwary further said.

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