Former India captain MS Dhoni's love for Player's Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG) game is very well known. He even loves other multiplayer battleground games and has even posted about it on Twitter in the past.
Dhoni's ex-India teammate, Harbhajan Singh revealed that Dhoni spends a lot of time playing games when he is away from cricket. Speaking during an esports award show organized by India Today, Harbhajan added that they also used to form a team and play games together.
"Yes, every cricketer in the Indian team plays Esports. I have also played. Our former captain, MS Dhoni, he plays Esports 15 times more than the cricket he plays. After matches, if you see him in the hotel room, he spends his time playing Esports. Sometimes, FIFA, sometimes PUBG, sometimes other games.
"Esports is a big, big thing. We cricketers also used to form teams and play these first-person shooter games online," Harbhajan told India Today Gaming.
Esports is booming in India and it has gained a lot of attention in the last few years. There have been different esports tournaments which has attracted youngsters lately. Harbhajan further spoke on the popularity of the esports across world.
"For us it's a new thing...we used to play for the sake of entertainment. But people are making a career out of it now. There are analysts for them, there are discussions around it and even coaching is provided to make them understand the nuances of the game. Not only the players but many people are now associating with it in order to be something.
"Numbers are going to be massive. This is just the start of Esports. It will grow in unimaginable ways," he added.
The prize pool of the esports tournaments are lucrative and even the parents are now allowing their kids to take it as a profession. Harbhajan shared his tips to succeed for the gamers and said, "Work hard, if you do that, you will become better. You'll learn from your mistakes and keep going ahead in life."
"Don't get dejected and disappointed if you lose. Mistakes will happen even after you become champion. You have to learn from it and keep going ahead. I want every player to keep this as his/her motivation."
(With India Today Inputs)