MS Dhoni may be one of the biggest superstars in the country today. But, back in early 2007, when he had only just tasted stardom for a couple years, captain cool had to face the wrath of fans following India’s shocking loss to Bangladesh in their opening match of the 2007 World Cup.
Furious ‘fans’ stormed the under-construction home of Dhoni in Ranchi, and brought down walls and pillars of the wicket-keeper’s home. Some protesters allegedly even chanted ‘Dhoni die, die’. The irate mob even demanded that the prime residential plot worth five million rupees given to him by the state be taken back.
#OnThisDay in 2007, Bangladesh stunned India at the World Cup! pic.twitter.com/mQQgJiKXYH
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) March 17, 2019
India were all out for 191, with Dhoni going back without scoring. In Ahmedabad, enraged fans burnt effigies of then Indian captain Rahul Dravid and also raised slogans against Virender Sehwag, who scored just two runs in the game and was bowled. Bangladesh went on to win the match by five wickets.
India would go on to lose to Sri Lanka, and were dumped out of the World Cup. As fate would have it, only a few months later, Dhoni would be the cynosure of all eyes, leading a young Indian team to triumph in the inaugural World T20, and then in the 2011 World Cup as well.
Dhoni, however, did admit in 2016 that the extreme reaction of Indian media following their 2007 World Cup exit made him feel like a murderer, terrorist.