PUBG ban in India: MS Dhoni, Mohammad Shami amongst cricketers to be most affected

On September 2, the Indian government imposed a ban on 118 Chinese or China-backed apps, including the popular online multiplayer battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). While the game was highly popular among the Indian youth, it even attracted much time and attention of some high-profile players from the Indian cricket team. While the recent PUBG ban in India news came as a shock to many, here is a look at some Indian cricketers who were known PUBG enthusiasts and are likely to be most affected by the anti-China announcement made by the Indian government.

Also Read | PUBG Ban in India: KXIP Star KL Rahul's PUBG Mobile Season 14 Stats, ID And K/D Ratio

PUBG ban in India: MS Dhoni among top cricketers to be left disappointed

In October 2018, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared an image of the Indian cricket team waiting in the lobby. In the image, several cricketers including MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey and others were seen hooked to their handsets. Along with the picture, the BCCI also wrote that the players are playing a “very popular multiplayer game” before their scheduled departure and asked their fans to guess the game in the caption.

Similarly, in another image shared by the BCCI ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England, several cricketers were seen playing the online game on their devices. Apart from renowned PUBG enthusiasts like MS Dhoni and Kedav Jadhav, other 2019 World Cup players like Mohammad Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal were also seemingly hooked to their devices.

Also Read | Shreyas Iyer's PUBG Mobile Season Stats, ID And K/D Ratio Ahead Of IPL 2020

MS Dhoni, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, is an ardent follower of PUBG Mobile. Moreover, the craze for the game is quite widespread among players in his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as well. Veteran CSK batsman Kedar Jadhav and bowler Deepak Chahar also extensively follow the game. Even during live streams with CSK on their social media platforms, Chahar has openly spoken about his love for PUBG and also reveals about MS Dhoni’s PUBG updates from time to time.

Other cricketers like Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Manish Pandey also seem to be passionate followers of the game as evidenced by BCCI’s social media feeds. In fact, it is known that Chahal was one of the most active PUBG users ever since he started playing the game in 2018. The aforementioned players were usually seen resorting to the battle royale game while waiting for their chartered flights while some of them also played the game extensively during the India lockdown phase, as evidenced from their social media updates.

Also Read | IPL 2020: KL Rahul Eager To Learn Virat Kohli & MS Dhoni's Captaincy Techniques

PUBG ban in India: BCCI shares Indian cricketers picture of playing PUBG

MS Dhoni, Mohammad Shami and others in the IPL 2020

The PUBG ban in India aside, MS Dhoni is now slated to lead the CSK franchise again in the upcoming IPL 2020 season. His return to the field after his sabbatical remains one of the most talked-about aspects of the tournament. Apart from MS Dhoni, several other cricketers like Mohammad Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal will also be representing their respective IPL 2020 franchises.

Also Read | IPL 2020 Introduces Unique Contact Tracing Electronic Badges For All Bio-bubble Members?

Image credits: BCCI Twitter