lieutenant Colonel MS Dhoni has completed his 2-week stint with the Territorial Army and was on his way back to New Delhi. The World Cup-winning cricketer was spotted at the Leh airport on Saturday.
MS Dhoni joined the Territorial Army -- 106 TA Battalion(Para) in Jammu and Kashmir on July 30 and had trained with the Battalion over the last 2 weeks. The honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army had completed his stint on August 15.
MS Dhoni was deployed in the Kashmir valley as part ofVictor Force. The wicketkeeper-batsman stayed with the troops and took on theduties of patrolling, guard and post duty.Notably, MS Dhoni was in Ladakh, thenew Union Territory, on the eve of India's 73rd Independence Day. He waswelcomed by the Army personnel who also took him to the General Hospital of theArmy. Dhoni interacted with the patients at the hospital as well.
"Dhoni is a brand ambassador of the Indian Army. He hasengaged in motivating members of his unit and has often been playing footballand volleyball with the soldiers. He is also undertaking battle trainingexercises with the corps. He will remain in the valley till August 15,"senior army official had said.Dhoni was reportedly scheduled to travel toSiachen on Independence Day to have a glimpse of the high altitude warfaretraining centres and pay tribute to the martyrs at the Siachen War Memorial.
Dhoni trained with his unit during the course of his 15-daystint. He was also given ammunition training and lessons on army patrolling,according to The Times of India. Dhoni had also visited Uri and Anantnag duringhis stint in Jammu and Kashmir.
Dhoni made himself unavailable for selection for therecently-concluded limited-overs leg of India's tour of West Indies. The Indiawicketkeeper-batsman was part of India's World Cup squad that bowed out of thequadrennial tournament in the semi-final.
There was very little clarity surrounding MS Dhoni's futureafter India's World Cup exit but the 38-year-old is unlikely to retire frominternational cricket anytime soon.India's senior selection committee chairmanMSK Prasad remained tight-lipped about Dhoni's future in the side when he wasasked questions about the same during a press conference wherein he announcedIndia's squad for the West Indies tour."We did discuss with him [Dhoni'sfuture]," MSK Prasad had said.
"Retirement is purely individual. A legendary cricketerlike MS Dhoni... he knows when to retire. But as far as the future roadmap isconsidered, that is in the hands of the selectors."
