Cops turn Dhoni's Ranchi home into no-go zone after semifinal loss
Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's residence in Ranchi was turned into a fortress on Thursday after India lost the World Cup semifinal against Australia in Sydney.
At least 30 armed policemen guarded Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's residence in Ranchi on Thursday after India lost the World Cup semifinals against Australia in Sydney.
With guns slung on their shoulders, they were on guard against attacks by disappointed cricket enthusiasts who had attacked the house on earlier such occasions.
The cops didn’t allow anybody to gather within the 20-foot radius of the residence. However, some of them didn’t miss the opportunity to hurl expletives at Dhoni when stopped by the cops.
Dhoni's house had been attacked at least three times by cricket fans since it was constructed.
One was when India lost against Bangladesh in 2007 World Cup. The angry fans had then demolished the walls of his house under construction.
But, no such incident was reported on Thursday.
Ranchi superintendent of police Jaya Rai said it was part of fool-proof security arrangements outside Dhoni’s residence.
However, despite the loss, some of his fans had a reason to cheer as Dhoni made it clear during the post-match presentation on Thursday he wasn't planning a retirement from the limited overs cricket any time soon as he was fit to continue. During the World Cup, speculations were rife that the 33-year-old skipper may announce his retirement after the tournament.
Dhoni's school cricket team captain Sanjeev Kumar summed it up in a sporting manner. He said: “It's a sport and one team has to lose. India will win the T-20 World Cup next year under his (Dhoni's) leadership and we are looking forward to the future tournaments.”
Dhoni's coach Chanchal Bhattacharya said India could have won the semifinals had any of the batsmen supported Dhoni on the pitch. He said he was happy with the team’s performance as reaching the semifinals without a defeat was itself an honour.
