Dhoni, Bindra to don Army colours from today

New Delhi: Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra will officially don the olive green uniform and be conferred the rank of honorary Lt. Col. in the Territorial Army Tuesday.

"Dhoni and Bindra will be conferred the honorary rank of Lt. Col. Tuesday," an army officer said. President Pratibha Patil had approved the grant of honorary commissions to the two sportspersons on Sep 13 this year as recognition of their achievements in their respective sport. Dhoni led India to the cricket World Cup victory earlier this year and was instrumental in taking the team to the top spot in Test cricket rankings for the first time ever last year. He had also led the team to the T20 cricket inaugural World Championship in 2007. Bindra had won the only individual Olympic gold medal for India at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The two sportspersons will join an elite group of personalities, including senior cricketers Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar, who have been conferred honorary ranks in the armed forces. Kapil Dev was conferred the honorary Lt. Col. rank in the Territorial Army in 2008, while Tendulkar was made honorary Group Captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2010. IANS