MS Dhoni earns Rs. 20 lakh for Indian Army with heroics in charity match

MS Dhoni during his match winning innings in the Help for Heroes charity match

For the feat of smashing the winning runs in the Help for Heroes charity match last week, MS Dhoni’s Charitable Foundation has been given 20,000 pounds out of the 300,000 raised in the course of the match – an amount which translates to a little more than Rs. 20 lakhs.

The amount will be eventually handed over to the Indian Army in support of the wounded and severely injured soldiers in the line of duty, as reported by PTI.

The Help for Heroes T20 fundraiser was played to generate money for wounded British soldiers, and even featured three army men in the two teams – the Help for Heroes XI and the Rest of the World XI. The showstopper in the match without a doubt was the Indian ODI captain, who turned in a match-winning shift with both bat and gloves for the HFH XI.

Match also served as good practice: Dhoni

The MS Dhoni Charitable Foundation has also partnered with The Help for Heroes foundation to replicate a series of similar charity matches in India over the coming years in order to raise more funds towards the support of the Indian Army.

On his return to India after the match, Dhoni had said, "The match was an excellent platform to support such a worthy cause. I feel honored to have been a part of it and look forward to supporting many more like these in the near future. The match also served as a good practice for the upcoming ODI series with South Africa."

The latest development also provides an answer to those who had been raising questions over the patriotism of Dhoni in playing for British soldiers instead of Indian soldiers. As always, ‘Captain Cool’ is one step ahead of all his detractors.

Dhoni has meanwhile begun his preparations in Bengaluru for the South Africa tour, a long 72-day affair where Dhoni would be looking to set some records straight. Despite averaging in the 50s against all other teams combined, he averages in the 20s against South Africa in ODIs.

Dhoni is a Col (hony) Para Regt of Indian army playing a fund raising match for British army when will he play for Indian Army veterans

— virender thapar (@Thapar77Thapar) September 18, 2015

#Teamindia Captain @msdhoni hits the nets at the preparatory camp in Bengaluru #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/wwWizEtcR5

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 23, 2015