MS Dhoni turns 40 today on July 7, 2021, and received wishes and praises from all over the world. He also received some high accolades from Indian Army veteran, Colonel Vembu Shankar, who was in awe of his ability to connect with the armed forces.
The captain of two World Cup-winning teams is an honorary lieutenant colonel with the Indian Territorial Army and a qualified paratrooper.
In 2015, four years after he was awarded the honorary rank in the Indian Territorial Army, he became a qualified paratrooper after completing five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft in the Agra training camp.
Apart from this, Dhoni spent three weeks at his battalion, the 106 Territorial Army Battalion (Para), in Jammu and Kashmir after India was knocked out of the 2019 World Cup and debate raged over his retirement.
Indian Army veteran, Colonel Vembu Shankar, an avid collector of autographs, has known Dhoni for the last 13 years, met MS Dhoni for the first time in 2007.
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“I met him for the first time in 2007 as an autograph collector. In 2010, we were invited to a dinner, where we spoke only about the armed forces and there was not a word on cricket. I am fascinated by the way he can connect with the troops and boost their morale by sharing personal examples and experiences. These qualities are rare to find outside the armed forces,” Shankar told Sportstar.
Furthermore, he said that Dhoni’s interest in the armed forces increased after training with the elite National Security Guard (NSG), where one of his friends was deputed.
“The fascination with weapons technology and a general curiosity about machines made him crave a life in the armed forces,” says Shankar.
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“During the paratrooper training, he had a training schedule similar to everyone else’s. His was even tougher because he would get up at 4 o’clock in the morning, and that went on till about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. In the evening, lieutenant colonel MS Dhoni was back as cricket captain and had to visit a lot of establishments, meeting people to boost their morale,” Shankar recalled.
Shankar also considers ‘Colonel Dhoni’ a true leader, in every sense.
“Dhoni as a person, as a leader, has got so many qualities of an armed forces leader. The first and foremost is his compassion — he believes that the people who he leads should get the best facilities and comfort. The country comes first. I would rate Colonel MS as a true leader. The armed forces have a good officer in him. We will get to see him interacting more with the troops in the years to come,” says Shankar.
(Sportstar inputs)
