Senior Indian cricketer MS Dhoni reportedly flew to Kashmir on Wednesday, 31 July, to join the 106 Territorial Army Battalion, where he will be serving his paramilitary regiment for about two weeks.
During his 15-day stint in the valley starting 1 August, Lieutenant Colonel Dhoni will be doing patrolling, guard and post duties, and will also stay with the troops.
In a statement on 25 July, the Indian Army said: "Lieutenant Colonel (Honorary) MS Dhoni is proceeding to 106 TA Battalion (Para) for being with the Battalion from 31 Jul-15 Aug 19."
The statement said that the unit will be posted in the Kashmir valley as part of the Victor Force. "As requested by the officer and approved by Army Headquarters; he will be taking on the duties of patrolling, guard and post duty and would be staying with troops," the statement read.
Before the Indian squad for the West Indies series was announced, the former Indian skipper opted out of the series announcing that he would take a two-month sabbatical from cricket.
There were speculations that MS Dhoni would announce his international retirement after the end of the 2019 World Cup. However, neither Indian skipper Virat Kohli nor the team management have given any final word on the development yet.
The 38-year-old holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army unit of the Parachute Regiment (106 Para TA battalion).
The honour was accorded to him by the Indian Army in 2011 along with Abhinav Bindra and Deepak Rao.
In 2015, the Ranchi lad became a qualified paratrooper after having completed five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircrafts in the Agra training camp.