Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Indian captain, took the impact of fan and media annoyance back home following the exit of the defending champions from the World Twenty20 on Sunday.
Defense measures were stepped up around Dhoni’s home in the eastern city of Ranchi on Monday after several fans burnt his effigy, shouted slogans and charged the captain of underestimating England in a must-win situation.
India, champions two years ago, were looked upon as one of the favorites this time but a three-run loss to England relegated them to a second straight Super Eights defeat, staggering all Indian hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
The Indian media has held Dhoni solely responsible for shuffling the order and failing to whip up his own subdued batting form when a captain’s innings was badly needed.
His promotion of young all-rounder Ravinder Jadeja to No 4 in the batting line-up instead of the explosive Yuvraj Singh was also looked upon as a technical blunder after the 20-year-old failed to force the pace and left his team-mates with too much to do in the final overs.
“Why did Dhoni throw Jadeja to the lions,” asked one TV channel, while another said: “He [Dhoni] could not tonk the ball, got it all wrong with his strategy. Horrible captaining by Dhoni cost us dear.”
Dhoni’s ride as a Test captain has been a comparatively smooth one since the 2007 triumph but his leadership has come under scrutiny at this tournament after parading the entire team in an attempt to quash media reports of disharmony between him and deputy Virender Sehwag.
His relationship with the media worsened after Sehwag was ruled out due to a shoulder injury and Dhoni and his team management were attacked for being less than forthcoming over the nature of the explosive batsman’s problem.
Indian cricket fans are well known for giving an open display of their emotions. Disheartened fans hailed stones at the homes of some players after the team suffered a shock first round exit in the one-day World Cup two years ago.
However, thousands lined up on both sides of the road from Mumbai airport to the stadium when the victorious Twenty20 team took out a victory parade months later.
