A vintage video of the great Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni speaking to troops at the Line of Control (LoC) about patriotism and the connection to the military has surfaced as the Indian Armed Forces carried out Operation Sindoor, a targeted retaliation strike to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
In the meanwhile, early on May 7, 2025, Operation Sindoor was carried out. Nine terrorist infrastructure locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) were struck by Indian forces. The vicious Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians on April 22, prompted these strikes.
The operation, which was closely supervised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was founded on intelligence that connected the locations to the dismantling of terrorist organizations. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi emphasized the mission’s accuracy while clarifying that no Pakistani military objectives were struck. Vikram Misri, the foreign secretary, noted that the Pahalgam investigation had revealed unmistakable ties to terrorist organizations with headquarters in Pakistan.
It’s interesting that following the operation, a video of MS Dhoni speaking to Indian forces along the Line of Control reappeared and went viral. When questioned about the purpose of his presence on the border, Dhoni, who was dressed in the Territorial Army outfit, said something about national pride in the video.
“What we want is non-violence, but at the end of the day, we are here to protect the interests of our country, we are up and ready for this, we don’t want any violence, but we are ready,” he said.
Notably, in 2011, the Ranchi native received the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He qualified as a paratrooper in 2015 after completing the Agra parachute training course. He willingly participated in field training operations with the 106 Territorial Army Battalion (Para) in Jammu and Kashmir for three weeks in 2019.
Despite being one of India’s most successful captains and a busy player on the cricket field, Dhoni has always demonstrated his dedication to the military. He further demonstrated his affection during the 2019 World Cup issue by wearing military insignia on his gloves. The hashtag #DhoniKeepTheGlove garnered a lot of public support.
