Mumbai: Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is reportedly expected to hoist the Indian Flag on the occasion of India’s 73rd Independence Day in Leh, the newly-formed union territory of Ladakh. Dhoni who has been conferred the title of lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army, is currently stationed in Khrew in Jammu Kashmir’s Pulwama district along with his other members of his Territorial Army battalion.
On July 30, MS Dhoni had joined the Territorial Army Battalion which is currently deployed in south of Kashmir. On Thursday, the Army officials have stated that MSD and his regiment will be travelling to Leh on August 10.
A senior member of the Army stated, “Dhoni is a brand ambassador of the Indian Army. He has engaged in motivating members of his unit and has often been playing football and volleyball with the soldiers. He is also undertaking battle training exercises with the corps. He will remain in the valley till August 15.”
38-year-old Dhoni has taken two months break from international cricket after India got eliminated from the 2019 World Cup in a semi-final match in which the Kiwis defeated the Men in Blues by 18-runs.
Following the semi-final loss, several media reports were doing rounds that Dhoni would announce his retirement soon, but all those reports came to a halt after the veteran wicket-keeper announced that he is taking a two-month break from international cricket to serve his regiment in the Kashmir Valley.
Nonetheless, the Army officials didn’t reveal the exact location at which Dhoni is expected to unfurl the tricolour on August 15. On August 5, the central government of India decided to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution and took back the special status of Jammu & Kashmir as the state was divided into two union territories after a legislation was passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Following that move, massive troops were deployed in Kashmir.
Dhoni was stationed in Kashmir amid the deployment of the security personnel after all communication networks in the state was cut down to avoid any chaos in the law and order.
