We were treated like murderers or terrorists after 2007 World Cup: MS Dhoni

India's limited-overs captain MS Dhoni has described the pain that he and the national team went through on their arrival to the country after the disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign, in which the Men in Blue crashed out in the group stage itself.

Dhoni said that the furious reactions of fans and the media had a big impact on his cricket as well as his life thereafter.  “When we landed in Delhi, there was a lot of media. At times, people feel that we are not emotional enough about it, but I always felt (that) as sportspersons, you have to be strong enough to go through everything and it has to be within yourself. It is not about coming for a press conference and crying about stuff, or crying in the field about what has happened,” Dhoni said during a promotional event of his film, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, here on Thursday.

“At that point of time, when we landed, we had to get out in a police van. I was sitting next to Viru paaji (Virender Sehwag). It was evening or night time. We were travelling at a decent speed – 60 or 70 kms – and that's quite a bit for India, that too on the narrow roads.  “And media cars around us with their cameras and the big lights on top, it felt as if we had committed a big crime, maybe like a murderer or terrorist or something. We were actually chased by them.

“After a while, we entered a police station. We went there, we sat for a while and then we left in our cars after 15-20 minutes. That actually had a big impact on me and I channelised the aggression to become a better cricketer and a better human being,” the skipper added.
 

With PTI inputs