Dhoni's effigy burnt in hometown

RANCHI: A group of people on Sunday burnt cricketer MS Dhoni's effigy near his under-construction house to protest his performance in India's opening game in the World Cup against Bangladesh.

About two dozen people gathered near the house and set alight the effigy on which Dhoni's poster had been pasted. The jeering people shouted slogans and asked the government to take back the plot of land allotted to the player.

Dismissing the protest as a stray incident, Superintendent of Police (city) Richard Lakra said some people just shoved some bricks that were kept at the site for building the house.

"The house under construction is complete up to the plinth level," he said, adding police were keeping a watch near the site and at Dhoni's house at Mecon.

Expressing displeasure at the incident, former Bihar Ranji Trophy skipper KVP Rao said cricket was after all a game.

"Real fans should support the team now, as it was only the first match and Team India has a good chance to advance in the World Cup," Rao said.

Another former international, Randhir Singh, observed that fans anywhere have high expectations from their favourite teams and like to watch them win always.

Saroj Kumar, a die-hard Dhoni fan, said the handful of people who joined the protest only wanted 'cheap publicity'.