5 cricketers who play PUBG regularly
The most successful mobile multiplayer online game with over 70 million downloads on Google's Play Store, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile, better known as PUBG Mobile has inspired an entire generation of gamers. While traditional PC based esports such as Counter-Strike Global Offensive (CSGO) and Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) failed to capture India's competitive video gaming market, PUBG's ease of accessibility combined with the country's ever-growing smartphone dependence made it the nation's go-to game across various age categories.
Whether it's casual, serious or professional, an entire ecosystem has been created which has directly impacted cultural references across India's youth. The game puts everyone on a level playing field regardless of their economic background, social status or even personal stature.
Hence, it will come as no surprise that several of India's senior national team cricketers are regular PUBG players, particularly on off-training days. In fact, members of the backroom staff have also confirmed to Sportskeeda, that it has been used as a tool for team bonding during travel, post-gym sessions and before hitting the sack.
The craze for the game had reached such a peak, that specific team members actually bought tabs just to get a competitive edge while playing their beloved game. Sportskeeda looks at five such members who are regular PUBG players, during their free time.
MS Dhoni
A name you probably didn't expect on the list, 'Captain Cool' as he is often known as one of the first members in the Indian team to download the game. Introduced to PUBG by Kedar Jadhav during their Indian Premier League (IPL) tenure with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Dhoni is considered to be one of the quickest learners of the game in the team.
Source close to the Indian team told Sportskeeda, "He's an aggressive player who loves to rush, while Kedar gives a lot of the calls to the squad, Dhoni loves to hunt opponents down. He picked it up in 2018, by that time players such as Kedar, Chahal, Dhawan were all regular players, but he was quick learner, and eventually he used to play post dinner or while travelling. But, he was never as regular as the others."
There has been a lot of speculation about the 38-year old former captain's international future, but it's good to know that Dhoni enjoys an AKM frag or two.
Kedar Jadhav
The man who introduced the Indian cricket team to PUBG Mobile in early 2018, Maharashtra's Kedar Jadhav is known to be a utility man within national team. However, on the PUBG server, he's often known as the 'In-game leader' by the rest of his national teammates for the number of hours he has spent on the game.
Our source said, "He used to play it regularly, whenever he got free time, so other members got curious about, a lot of people tried it out even Shami was inspired to play the game through him. He's someone who is often shouting on where to drop and stuff, I don't know much about it, but yes, Kedar plays with his CSK teammates as well. Dhoni picked it up from him only."
According to our source, it seemed that he was the one guiding the team as he had the most amount of experience. Based on the 35 year old's advice, members such as Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal actually purchased pads with better display to play PUBG only.
Yuzvendra Chahal
In all likelihood the second most active PUBG player behind Kedar Jadhav, Chahal picked up the game towards the start of 2018. In fact there is a famous picture of him playing the game at the airport, while waiting for his flight. Apparently, both Kedar and Chahal play on the same squad, whenever they get a chance."
Our source added, "They always play together, even at night, if they are not allotted as roommates, they go to the hotel lobby and play. They are quite competitive about things happening in game, Chahal is more fun loving, you can see he does things, that make Kedar angry, but he's genuinely having a good time."
Apparently a story of Chahal purposely not reviving Kedar was a joke among the team's PUBG players for a long time.
Mohammed Shami
The 'tab player' as he is often known by the teammates, Shami was one of the late comers to the national team's PUBG group. According to our source, the 29-year old actually played multiple times before with his brothers. However, he was too shy to start playing with the national team. It was only when Jadhav insisted, did the team realise he has played the game before.
Our source said, "He always carries around a tab, so when Jadhav got him to play, he was immediately good. He didn't tell anyone he used to play with his brother out of embarrassment, but now he's a regular player with the team. I think he uses the sniper a lot, that's what one can make out from the communication."
It is also said that Shami's ease of using the sniper on tab prompted other national team members to switch from mobile.
Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan also picked up the game around the same time as Shami and is known to have even played the game with his wife from time to time. The Delhi based cricketer is a regular member along with Chahal, Jadhav and Shami while waiting for flights.
Our source added, "I have seen Shikhar join them as well, but not as much as the others."