Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pulled out of the upcoming West Indies tour, as reported by the BCCI official. Dhoni has decided to spend the next two months with his army troops. MSD holds an honorary post of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Parachute Regiment.
On Sunday a BCCI official said, “Dhoni has made himself unavailable for the tour of West Indies as he will be spending two months with his paramilitary regiment.”
Dhoni had also requested to the Indian Army to let him train with the Territorial Army battalion of the Parachute regiment for the next two months.
“The request has now been approved by the Indian Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and the honorary Lt Col would train with the Parachute regiment battalion,” top Army sources told ANI. The wicketkeeper-batsman would now train with the Parachute Regiment, a part of which is expected to take place in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Army, however, will not allow Dhoni to be a part of any active operations, sources mentioned.
Dhoni has in the past underwent army training. He trained with the Special Forces in Agra in 2015. He has underpinned five jumps to become a paratrooper and his latest jump came from the AN-32 transporter aircraft recorded at a height of over 1,200 feet.
India will tour West Indies for three T20Is and as many ODIs, and two Tests which are part of the ICC World Test Championship. The series will be played from August 3 to September 3.
