World Cup-winning, former Indian Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is all set to join Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment. The two-month training will begin on July 31st. On Wednesday, Dhoni joined a battalion, which has its headquarters in Bengaluru. He will be training in Kashmir Valley till August 15. The 38-year-old cricketer will be taking on the duties of patrolling, guard and post duty while staying with the troops.
According to IANS, “Just like Dhoni has been one of the greatest servants of Indian cricket, his love for the armed forces is also well known. This idea that he would go and spend time with his regiment was in the pipeline for a while but it took a backseat due to his cricketing commitments. This will also help increase awareness among the youth about the armed forces and that is what Dhoni wants.”
Dhoni holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army unit of the Parachute Regiment (106 Para TA battalion). The honour was handed to him by the Indian Army in 2011. Dhoni was given this honour along with Abhinav Bindra and Deepak Rao. In 2015, the Ranchi lad became a qualified paratrooper after having completed five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft in the Agra training camp.
The wicketkeeper-batsman announced himself unavailable for the West Indies tour. India will be playing three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches beginning August 3.
Unfortunately, India had lost to New Zealand in Semi-finals of the World Cup in the UK. There were rumours of MS Dhoni’s retirement but the team management has asked him to stay. The team is yet to groom Rishabh Pant with an eye on the 2020 World T20 in Australia.
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