Watch: Team India Comes Up With Incredible Gesture To Pay Tribute To Armed Forces

In a heartwarming gesture, Team India has decided to come up with a special act to pay tribute to Indian armed forces during the upcoming third ODI against Australia in Ranchi.  The Indian cricket fraternity has not shied away from showing its solidarity with the armed forces in the wake of the Pulwama attack.  On February 14, more than 40 CRPF jawans were killed after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into one of the vans of the military convoy at the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

Since then the cricketing fraternity has joined hands with the common mass to condemn the attack and pay tribute to the soldiers. The BCCI has already announced that there would be no opening ceremony for this year’s IPL. Instead, the budget allocated for the ceremony will be given to the family of the martyrs. The players had also maintained a two-minute silence before the start of the first T20I against Australia. And Virat Kohli & Co. have now come up with another tribute.

Gearing up for Ranchi – ?? from #TeamIndia's training session before the 3rd ODI against Australia #INDvAUS @Paytm pic.twitter.com/WstXhrRa9T

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 7, 2019

The India players will wear camouflaged caps during the Ranchi ODI in a tribute to the Indian Armed Forces. This will become a yearly event just like Australia’s ‘Pink Test’ and South Africa’s ‘Pink ODI’.

According to reports, the move has been mooted by none other than MS Dhoni, who is a lieutenant colonel with the Territorial Army, and skipper Kohli.

#TeamIndia will be sporting camouflage caps today as mark of tribute to the loss of lives in Pulwama terror attack and the armed forces

And to encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund for taking care of the education of the dependents of the martyrs #JaiHind pic.twitter.com/fvFxHG20vi

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 8, 2019

“It’s fitting that the start of this annual event is being done at the home town of Lt. Col. Dhoni because it is not a superficial event but a sincere one. I for one will not be surprised if Dhoni ends up doing active service after he hangs his boots.

“To me, today’s symbolic act depicting solidarity with the forces is more powerful than the one involving monetary donation by the BCCI,” a BCCI official told IANS.

He further elaborated the whole idea, saying:

“The idea is to pay tribute to the armed forces and their families. To encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund for taking care of the education of the dependants of the martyrs.

“Dhoni will be presenting these caps to his team-mates and former India players in the support staff soon after the warm ups. These caps will also be given to former India players who are part of the commentary team,” he added.

Not only that, sources have also revealed how much work Dhoni and Kohli have put up for the initiative. The duo reportedly worked closely with Nike in this whole initiative. India, meanwhile, lead the five-match series against Australia two nil and will be looking to seal the series in Ranchi.