Sunday, March 4, 2012

IAF puts Tendulkar, Dhoni’s Sukhoi flight on hold

The lackluster performance of Team India against England and then the appalling show it put up in the tri-nation series has unthought-of fallout besides being taken on by the cricket lovers at home. Its skipper Mahinder Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar were set to fly in Indian Air Force (IAF) frontline fighter jet, but the flight has now been put on hold.




Dhoni, a known speed junkie owning more than a dozen high speed bikes in his personal garage, after the cricket team’s world cup win had met then IAF chief Air Chief Marshal PV Naik and had expressed his desire to fly in the winged beauty. Also the “master-blaster” Tendulkar was given the honorary rank of Group Captain by the IAF in 2010, a first for any sportsperson in the country. 

After seeing the VVIPs like Ratan Tata, former president APJ Kalam and President Pratibha Patil, the country was gearing up to see both the batsmen don flying suits get into the rear seats of the one of the best fighter aircraft of IAF.

Sources in the IAF told the Sunday Standard: “We were planning the sorties this year as and when the cricketers get time from their busy schedules. But considering the poor spell for the Indian team we think the time is not ripe for the sorties. The proposal has gone into cold-storage.”

The purpose of the proposed sorties was to increase awareness about the force.

The Defence Ministry had provided clearance for the sorties for both the sportspersons in 2011 after IAF sought special permission. The duo was supposed to undertake the flight at Pune’s Lohegaon Air Force Station where the two squadrons of the air-dominance Sukhoi fighter jets are based.

Incidentally, IAF had also included a photograph of Tendulkar in its official calendar for 2011. Tendulkar was posing in front of a Sukhoi jet in a fighter pilot’s gear.

The last VIP to fly in a Sukhoi Su-30MKI was President Pratiba Patil on November 25, 2009.
 

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