sukhoi sorties: A year on,IAF still waits for Tendulkar,Dhoni to pad up

“The sorties have not been called off. Their schedules have been busy. The sorties would be carried out at a mutually convenient time,” said an official with Air Headquarters,New Delhi. “It is likely that Dhoni will fly from Bareilly,” said another IAF official.

Air Chief Marshal (retd) P V Naik,who was instrumental in bestowing the cricketing legend with the IAF honorary rank,said,“We wanted to give Tendulkar a sortie immediately after he was conferred the rank so that we could give him a honorary wing. But he has been genuinely busy. I am sure the IAF is pursuing the matter and the sortie will happen when he has the time.”

Naik added,“I am disappointed. I had expected that after being conferred the rank,he would join us (IAF) on important occasions,attract quality youth,but he has been busy.”

In January 2011,Air Marshal Anjan Kumar Gogoi,AOC-in-C,Gandhinagar-based South Western Air Command,had said during a visit to 2 Wing that a proposal for Tendulkar’s sortie had been sent to MoD and if approved,would happen from Pune. After India’s World Cup victory in April 2011,Naik had reportedly said he would seek special permission from the government so that Dhoni and Tendulkar could experience a Su-30MKI flight. “Once Sachin and Dhoni are free from their cricketing engagements,I will ensure that they get to fly Su-30MKI,” he was quoted as saying.

MoD reportedly gave an informal green signal to the two sorties in July 2011. IAF officials had also indicated that the sorties would take place in Pune after team India’s West Indies tour in June-July last year. It has been a year post MoD nod,but there does not seem to be a mutually convenient time for it. “If Dhoni can visit troops on LoC,Tendulkar should give time to be the IAF brand ambassador,” said an officer.