In a disturbing incident, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s five-year old daughter received rape threats from social media trolls following Chennai Super Kings (CSK)’ loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday (6 October) night.

CSK failed to chase a 168-run target, losing the game to KKR by 10 runs.

Dhoni’s wife, Sakshi, got the threats on her Instagram account.

Dhoni-led CSK, which has won three editions of the IPL in past, has failed to perform well this season. The team has lost four out of six matches it has played.

CSK, however, is considered one of the most successful teams in the tournament's history.

The threats created an outrage on social media, especially from women.

Sowmya Reddy, MLA from Jayanagara, Karnataka, wrote on her timeline, “This is just nasty! What’s happening to our country? Where are we heading?”

Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted, “This has to be the most disgusting example of how social media platforms are being misused.”

Fans have often taken out their ire on the players. In earlier days, they have even pelted stones at players’ homes, burnt posters and shouted abuses.

However, targeting the daughter of a player in such a way has been unheard of before.

One of India's most successful captains, M S Dhoni announced his retirement from International Cricket ahead of this IPL season.

(With inputs from IANS)