Team India player name "Hitler" sparks controversy just before the Esports World Cup 2025

India finally received a special invite to the PUBG Mobile World Cup at the Esports World Cup 2025, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which will start from July 25th to August 3rd. But as fate would have it, right before the big tournament, the team found themselves in the middle of a controversy. 

If you don't know, Team Aryan won BMPS 2025 and earned the slot for the PUBG Mobile World Cup at the Esports World Cup. When India was celebrating their Special Invite status, and a chance to represent the nation at the World Cup, there came an international backlash and unexpected controversy regarding the name of one of the players on the team, "Hitler."

Backlash Regarding Name Just Before PUBG Mobile WC Esports World Cup 2025

The player's name hurt sentiments globally, as the name Hitler, of course, carries deep emotional and historical trauma, especially in Europe and among the Jewish community worldwide. The team got into controversy without malicious intent.

In India, people commonly use the term "Hitler" to refer to someone who is extremely strict or for playful taunts. There was no intention to harm anyone by the player or the team itself. But considering the global stage they will be representing India, cultural sentiments have to be taken into consideration. 

People who are raising this have a valid point, but the organizers or game developers should be the ones to carefully educate the players. When they won BMPS, the organizers and the developers had all the time to look into it, and they missed it, of course, and the team name and the player name were officially circulated throughout the Internet, as it's after so many years since an Indian team got a chance to represent globally.

In India, the name Aryan is extremely common, as it's derived from Sanskrit, which means noble or sun-like, and millions of people have the name Aryan and use it with pride and respect. Aryan also means warrior clans.

So who's at fault? Let's ask the right question. It should have been the organizers of BMPS, developer Krafton, who should have flagged it internally and made sure to change the player's name before the official announcement. We all knew that the winner of BMPS 2025 would get the slot to EWC, so there was enough time to flag it and take the necessary steps. Reputational risks like these not only affect the players but also the entire country they represent.

And for people globally criticizing it, we should have open conversations rather than open fire, which is happening all over the socials, be it X, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

My final thoughts would be that it's been so many years since India was sidelined from global competition because of the game ban, and finally, BGMI got its chance in the PUBG Mobile World Cup. We should not let miscommunication derail this proud moment of representation and progress.

This incident should not spark division among the different countries, but we should start global esports education and show empathy to each other.

The team will work on it, and we will see the player changing the name, according to the sources.