Indian Army has distanced itself from the controversy surrounding cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni using the regimental dagger insignia of the Para (Special Forces) on his wicket-keeping gloves.
Army sources said that they are not sure what Dhoni has on his gloves, and said that it is not the ‘Balidan’ medal of the Para SF.
“Balidan medal has a maroon background and has metal on top. It is supposed to be placed on the chest. Without the maroon background, the insignia is not complete,” Army sources said.
The ‘Balidan’ is a distinct insignia of the Parachute Regiment of Indian Army's Special Forces and has a commando dagger pointed downwards, with upward-extending wings extending from the blade and a scroll superimposed on the blade with ‘Balidan’ inscribed in Devanagari. And only Paramilitary Commandos are allowed to wear the ‘Balidan’ badge.
M.S. Dhoni is paratrooper of the Territory Army unit of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment, and is an honorary Lt. Colonel. He had also undergone training under the Para Brigade in 2015. Indian military gives honorary ranks to people to recognise their contribution to their fields. Sachin Tendulkar is an honorary group captain of the Indian Air Force and Kapil Dev, ace-shooter Abhinav Bindra and politicians such as Sachin Pilot and Rao Birender Singh have been given honorary rank in the Army. Malayalam actor Mohanlal has also been given an honorary title of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army.
On India's opening match on Wednesday against South Africa, Dhoni was spotted by television cameras with the Indian Army's regimental insignia. Subsequently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to get the symbol removed from Dhoni's gloves. ICC regulations do not permit the display of messages that relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes during an international match on any ICC equipment and clothing.
Earlier in March, Team India paid tribute to Pulwama martyrs by donning Army caps in an ODI against Australia. On that occasion, BCCI had clarified in a tweet that the camouflage caps were donned by the Men in Blue as tribute to the 40 CRPF security personnel who lost their lives in a terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.
