Reaction after the 2007 World Cup disaster made me a better cricketer, says MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni during a promotional event for his upcoming biopic

World Cup winning Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed that the reaction received by the Indian Cricket team after their poor show in the 2007 World Cup played a pivotal role in his growth as a cricketer. The 2007 edition was by far the most disappointing result for India in the history of World Cups having been eliminated in the group stages after losing to minnows Bangladesh and neighbours Sri Lanka.

Dhoni’s house, which was under construction in Ranchi, was pelted with stones following India’s exit from the showpiece event. A lot changed four years down the line, and the Ranchi-boy won the hearts of the whole nation by guiding India to the ICC World Cup in 2011. He recalled how they were treated on their return and admitted it felt the players had committed a “crime”.

The wicket-keeper revealed, "At that point of time, when we landed, we had to get out in a police van. I was sitting next to Viru [Virender Sehwag] paaji. 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, you know, 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.”

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Minutes after the dramatic chase, the ‘Men in Blue’ entered a police station and Dhoni stated how that chase had a big impact on him. "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.” said Dhoni.

As per the reports of ESPN Cricinfo, Dhoni also added, "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, as sports persons, 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."

Many other facts will also be revealed in his upcoming biopic ‘ MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’, which is scheduled to be released on September 30. Back in 2007, Rahul Dravid led the Indian cricket team and Dhoni was a regular wicket-keeper with great hard-hitting abilities.

Dhoni is excited about his biopic and stated that he previously told director Neeraj Pandey that the movie should not “glorify” him, else it should narrate a story of “professional sports person”.