Dhoni plays the perfect army man in Kashmir and will spend a night in forward areas

Dubai: As a child, Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had always wanted to join the Army — a wish granted last year when he was conferred with an honorary Lieutenant Colonel’s post in the Territorial Army. He took time out from rare free schedule on Saturday to visit the Line of Control (LoC) on the Jammu and Kashmir border to interact with soldiers.

Dhoni went to areas close to the border after arriving in Jammu, defence ministry spokesman Col. R.K. Palta told news agencies. “He will interact with soldiers and see how the Indian Army works in forward areas,” said Palta. The army was proud to have such ‘an international icon as its brand ambassador’, he added.

Dhoni is scheduled to visit forward areas like Bhimbher Gali, Hamirpur, Kalsian, Nowshera and some other positions in Poonch and Rajouri districts donning army uniform.

According to Palta, the visit seeks “to boost the morale of troops who work in most inhospitable condition and to motivate local youths to join the army”. He is scheduled to spend the night in Rajouri.

He is scheduled to visit Udhampur, headquarter of the Northern Command, on Sunday before watching the final of the first phase of the Kashmir Premier League (KPL) at Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley.

“It’s a real honour as I always wanted to be part of the Indian Army. It’s [joining the Indian Army] something that I always wanted to achieve as a kid and now that I have donned the olive greens, my dream has been fulfilled,” the World Cup winning captain said when he and Abhinav Bindra, India’s Olympic gold medallist were handed over the Lieutenant Colonel’s posts last year.

Dhoni represents the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army while Bindra has joined a TA battalion of the Sikh Regiment. “I want to witness the extreme conditions in which they live. I would also like to visit the Southern Command, Bangalore [Bengaluru], as I believe you can learn a lot from them,” Dhoni said.