MS Dhoni had made himself unavailable for the\West Indies tour starting from August 3. Now we know why. 

The 38-year-old veteran cricketer will begin training with Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment in Kashmir from July 31 to August 15. He holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army unit of the Parachute Regiment. He will be part of the Victor Force in Kashmir and his duties will include patrolling, guard and post duty. 

Sources who knew about this development spoke to IANS and mentioned that this was being planned for a while. 

“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,” the source said. 

Dhoni was given his honorary rank by the Indian Army in 2011. In 2015, the cricketer completed five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircrafts in the Agra training camp and became a qualified paratrooper. 

(Header Credit – Getty Images/Hindustan Times)