Picture Credit: Instagram
"One life for each to give, Who stands if Freedom falls?," Indeed its an Indian soldier who is ready to sacrifice their life in order to ensure freedom stays, safety and peace prevail. Recently, PRO Udhampur of the Ministry of Defence shared a 14-second long video of an army personnel standing tall, covered in the snow till his knees, and engulfed with snow wind while holding his gun as he patrols the border.
Immediately, the video went viral and was widely circulated and garnered applause from all walks of the society. Amongst many, cricketers like Shikhar Dhawan and Hanuma Vihari could not stop themselves from getting inspired by the unparalleled spirit of the army personnel and they also re-shared the video saluting the 'real heroes' of Indian Army. India's decorated opener Shikhar Dhawan took to Instagram on Sunday and shared the video with a caption note. His post read, "Our superheroes who make sacrifices that can’t be matched. A big salute to all our soldiers who battle the weather daily so we can sleep peacefully. Jai Hind."
Check out the post here:
Dhawan also added lines from popular and patriotic soundtrack, Kar Chale Hum Fida Jaano Tan Saathiyon, sung by legendary singer Md Rafi. Meanwhile, Hanuma Vihari, who impressed everyone with his gritty knock in the second innings of 2nd Test against South Africa shared the video with a caption, "Real Heroes," (with a heart emoji). Cricketers have often expressed their love and admiration for the Indian Army, and often share pictures with army personnel on their social media accounts. Notably, many celebrated cricketers for their contribution to Indian sports have been honored with honorary ranks with Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Navy.
The World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. After the 2019 World Cup semifinal loss, he trained with the Parachute Regiment for more than a month. Earlier to that, even the 'God of Cricket' was also honored with the rank of Group Captain by Indian Air Force in 2010, while another World Cup-winning captain and legendary Kapil Dev and India's first even Test captain CK Nayudu were also bestowed with the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army in 2008 and with the rank of Colonel in Holkar's Army, in 1923 respectively.