M S DHONI : Captain Cool to Lieutenant Colonel

 

MS Dhoni holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the 106th Infantry Battalion Territorial Army, an honour he was accorded by the President of India in 2011.

Dhoni holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army unit of the Parachute Regiment (106 Para TA battalion). This is an honour he was accorded by the Army in 2011. Dhoni was given this honour along with Abhinav Bindra and Deepak Rao, a leading expert in close combat warfare.

In 2015, Dhoni became a qualified paratrooper after having completed five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircrafts in the Agra training camp.

 

Dhoni has been seen in his uniform on many occasions. In the recent World Cup, there was a controversy over a military logo on his wicketkeeping gloves, something that the ICC wanted removed.  However, the military uniform is more than just a prop for him.

When he had been given the honorary rank of Lt Col in 2011, Dhoni had said, “Since childhood, I had wanted to join the Army. I used to visit the cantonment area and seeing the soldiers I used to think that one day I will also be among them.”