Bengaluru: Former India captain MS Dhoni  will take up patrolling, guard and post duties and will be staying with the troops in Kashmir as he will proceed to 106 Territorial Army Battalion (Para) from July 31 to August 15.

Dhoni recently took a two-month sabbatical from cricket to fulfill his wish of serving in the Indian troops. Dhoni, who is a Lieutenant Colonel (Honorary) in the Territorial Army unit of the Parachute Regiment (106 Para TA Battalion) has now begun training with Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment. His training started in Bengaluru, according to a report.

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"Just like Dhoni has been one of the greatest servants of Indian cricket, his love for the armed forces is also well known. This idea that he would go and spend time with his regiment was in the pipeline for a while but it took a backseat due to his cricketing commitments. 

"This will also help increase awareness among the youth about the armed forces and that is what Dhoni wants," a source was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. 

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“Lieutenant Colonel (Honorary) MS Dhoni is proceeding to 106 Territorial Army Battalion (Para) for being with the Battalion from 31 Jul-15 Aug 2019. The unit is in Kashmir as part of Victor Force.He'll be taking duties of patrolling, guard&post duty and will be staying with troops (sic),” news agency ANI tweeted today (July 25).

The 38-year-old Dhoni was recently not included in India’s limited-overs squads for the tours of USA and West Indies. During the ICC World Cup 2019 in England Wales, India lost in the semi-final, to New Zealand.

During the 10-team ICC showpiece event, Dhoni came in for heavy criticism after his slow batting. However, captain Virat Kohli and the team management had defended Dhoni. There were speculations that the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman would retire from the game after the World Cup 2019.