MS Dhoni starts two-week stint in Army

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni has started his stint in the Indian Army. A picture of the wicket-keeper batsman has been released on social media in which the seasoned campaigner is seen signing a cricket bat. Dhoni, who is on a sabbatical from the Indian cricket team, will be staying with his 106 TA Battalion (Para) till August 15 and undertake duties with the troops, Army officials said.

“Lt Col Dhoni arrived here today and has joined his unit,” one of the officials said. The unit is deployed in south Kashmir region as part of Victor Force. The former captain was accorded the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2011. Also, he is a qualified paratrooper after having completed five parachute training jumps.

However, since Dhoni is a civilian, there were concerns raised around his security. Army chief Bipin Rawat addressed the issue and put all such concerns to rest.

“When a citizen of India wants to don the military uniform then he has to be prepared to fulfil the task for which the uniform has been assigned to him. MS Dhoni has carried out his basic training and we know that he will be able to accomplish the task,” Rawat told NDTV.