The former Indian cricket captain was seen in the crowd during the high-stakes quarterfinal match between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz.
September 4, 2025: On September 3, 2025, MS Dhoni did travel to the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to attend the quarterfinal match of the US Open men’s singles between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz. Djokovic won the match in four sets, which sent him to the semifinals.
Dhoni was in the stands with businessman Hitesh Sanghvi, and pictures and videos of them went viral on social media, receiving a lot of attention from fans all around the world. Dhoni hasn’t been in the public glare much since he stopped playing international cricket in 2020. A lot of people were surprised when he showed up at the tennis tournament.
An old interview recording of Irfan Pathan has resurfaced, starting a new online conversation about his relationship with Dhoni and why he quit the Indian team. In the video, Pathan talks about a conversation he had with Dhoni during the 2008 series in Australia. He also added that he didn’t “habitually set up a hookah in someone’s room,” which many people thought was a hint at Dhoni and the team’s supposed “favoritism” culture.
But recent reports claim that Pathan has talked about the problem on social media. He claims that the video’s sudden appearance is part of a “fan war” or “PR lobby” with a “twisted context.” He also made a joke about the “hookah” when a fan asked him about it by saying, “Me and MS Dhoni will sit together and smoke.”
The media has also presented old footage of Pathan talking lovingly about his friendship with Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Robin Uthappa, which goes against the perception that their relationship is hostile. Even though there has been a lot of talk about the matter, Dhoni hasn’t spoken anything about it. He has decided not to get involved.