The Defense Ministry had decided to confer the rank of honorary Lt Col on Team Indian Captain Mahender Singh Dhoni and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra for their outstanding contribution to the field of cricket and shooting respectively, and their commitment to the Army on various occasions. As per an army communiqué, today they will officially don the olive green uniform and be conferred the rank of honorary Lt. Col. in the Territorial Army, at Delhi.

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. Earlier President Pratibha Patil approved their grant of honorary commissions on September 13.

These 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.