List Of Cricketers Who Were Part Of Their Country's Defence Forces

There are several International cricketers who have joined their country’s defence forces to serve their nation. It is always an honour for the players to first serve in the cricketing field and then take the same baton for the defence forces. We recently saw former Indian captain MS Dhoni take a two months break from the game to serve the Indian paramilitary forces.

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Subsequently, Dhoni is posted in Kashmir where he will serve the nation with other soldiers. It was always a pleasure for the players to do their bit for the nation. We take a look at the list of cricketers who were part of their country’s defence forces.

Here is the list.

Colonel Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu

Colonel Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu was India’s first Test captain. Nayudu was invited to Indore by ruler Holkar to serve his army. Nayudu was conferred as a Colonel in Holkar’s army.

Sir Don Bradman

The greatest batsman of all time, Sir Donald Bradman served Australia as a lieutenant for a year. Initially, in 1940, he joined the Australian Air Force and then he was transferred to the Australian Army. After a brief training, he was given the rank of a lieutenant. He was given the task of a physical training officer. However, as he was diagnosed with fibrositis, he was discharged from service in 1941.

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Lt Colonel Hemu Adhikari

Lt. Colonel Hemu Adhikari Test debut was postponed due to the gruelling World War two which spanned from 1941 to 1945. The official duties restricted his appearance to 21 of 47 Test matches played during the wartime

 Sir Len Hutton

England player Sir Len Hutton spend six years as an army training sergeant instructor. However, he suffered a wrist injury during his service in the army. Hence, he could not play the hook shot in his career.

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni became the qualified paratrooper in 2015. Dhoni has been awarded the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Territorial Army and the former skipper has always shown his love for the armed forces. The wicketkeeper-batsman has now taken a sabbatical to serve the nation. Dhoni is posted in the Kashmir Valley of the victor force.

Denis Compton

Denis Compton played two sports for England. Compton played 14 football matches for England whereas he also played 17 First-class matches in India. During World War 2, he was a sergeant major in the army and helped his men fight against the Japanese troops.

Hedley Verity

Hedley Verity died of wounds in Italy after he was taken in a prisoner of war. Verity who was a left-arm spinner for England had dismissed Sir Don Bradman the most number of times in his career. The southpaw spinner had got the better of the legendary batsman on eight occasions.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar holds a special rank of squadron leader in the Indian Air Force. The former legendary batsman is one of the most celebrated cricketers of all time and he was given this rank after years of service to the nation.

Sheldon Cottrell

West Indies talisman fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell impressed with his skills in the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2019. Cottrell was the leading wicket-taker for the Windies as he took a dozen wickets in the edition. Furthermore, Cottrell had gulped a fine catch at the boundary ropes to dismiss Steve Smith. Cottrell is a Jamaican Defence Soldier and he celebrates his dismissal with a salute to pay tribute to the force.