Dhoni To Commence Patrolling, Guard Duties With 106 Para TA Battalion in Kashmir Valley From Today

Dhoni is set to have a 15-day stint with his Parachute regiment, (106 Battalion of the Territorial Army), currently part of  the Victor Force formation engaged in counter insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley.

Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be commencing his patrolling duties in conflict-torn Jammu and Kashmir from today to discharge his responsibilities as an honorary colonel in the Territorial Army, the military said. Dhoni arrived on-board flight yesterday and is joining his unit today. However Army is tight lipped on the arrival and joining and had kept his actual location secret. Dhoni has given India’s tour of the West Indies a skip after there were wide speculations that he might retire after struggling in the ICC World Cup that saw India knocked out in the semi-finals. The wicket-keeper batsman, who is hailed as one of Indian cricket's superstars is part of the Territorial Army, a reserve force that draws on civilians who can do short stints to assist the military. Dhoni is set to have a 15-day stint with his Parachute regiment, (106 Battalion of the Territorial Army), currently part of  the Victor Force formation engaged in counter insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley. The wicket-keeper batsman is all set to get a real feeler of how an Indian soldier serves in the field area to discharges his duties. Dhoni will be adding on 19 kgs to his own body weight, wearing a full fledged military gear which comprises of his uniform (3 kgs) , 3 magazines (5 kgs),  boots (2kgs), 3-6 grenades (4 kgs), helmet (1 kg) and a bullet proof jacked ( 4 kgs). He will be undertaking on the duties of patrolling, guard and post duty and would be staying with troops in the barracks , the army said in a statement, adding that its headquarters had approved a schedule which incorporated Dhoni’s requests. Dhoni has trained as a paratrooper and done parajumps from aircraft, an army official said, Dhoni has played a pivotal role in mentoring and grooming youngsters in the Indian team and played his part in assisting skipper Virat Kohli to make some match winning strategies. In March, at Dhoni’s behest, Indian cricketers wore army camouflage-style caps during a match to show solidarity with paramilitary police killed in a militant attack in Kashmir by a Pakistan-based group.