THEY SAY DREAMS DO COME TRUE. On Wednesday morning, India’s ODI and T20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni realized a long-standing dream. The cricketer made his first-ever para jump from an Indian Air Force aircraft at the Agra airbase.
Dhoni, who was conferred the honorary Lieutenant Colonel rank in 2011, has been training with the skydiving team of the Air Force at Agra’s Paratroopers Training School. His first jump took place at 7 am. Leaping off an AN-32 aircraft from a height of 1250 feet, it took him 70 seconds to land with the help of a parachute.
The former Test captain is currently undergoing a two-week training for para jumping. Dhoni retired from Test cricket last year, but is still available for the shorter format. Dhoni, along with Olympic shooting champion Abhinav Bindra, was conferred the honorary rank by the then Indian President, Pratibha Patil.
"Why I got here is because of cricket. I would like to serve actively in the Army only after cricket. I don't want my cricket to suffer because that is something I am good at. Once my cricket career is over, I would definitely like to serve in the Army," Dhoni said in an interview after getting the honour.
Here’s a distant picture of the Indian cricketer on his official Facebook page, followed by a video. Spot MS, if you can!
MS Dhoni completed his first parachute jump from an Indian Air Force aircraft on Wednesday as part of his training with the Territorial Army.:Team MSD- Circle Of Cricket
Posted by MS Dhoni on Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The Indian cricketer had posted a #saluteselfie in his army attire on the eve of India's Independence Day on Twitter.