What makes the kabaddi league so popular?

The Pro Kabaddi League has reached its 12th season, rivalling the longevity of the IPL

- Arun Janardhan

The recent auctions for the upcoming 12th season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), in which 10 players were recruited for over ₹1 crore each, is an indicator of the league's progression.

Ahead of the first season in 2014, the highest bid was for Rakesh Kumar, who went for ₹12.8 lakh. Last Saturday, Gujarat Giants got Iranian Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh for ₹2.23 crore, a little more than the ₹2.20 crore paid by Bengal Warriorz for Devank Dalal. It was a spotty auction as 12 teams bid for more than 500 players, with the inevitable hits and misses.

Pawan Sehrawat, who went for ₹2.60 crore to Telugu Titans in 2023, barely made it through this time, getting ₹59.50 lakh from Tamil Thalaivas as most team principals seemed to focus on younger players. U Mumba, for instance, paid ₹78 lakh for unheralded Aanil Mohan while Pardeep Narwal, the most successful raider in PKL across seasons, went unsold. The three-time champion with Patna Pirates promptly announced his retirement.

For a league that started under reasonable scepticism, a 12th season itself is evidence of accomplishment considering no other sporting league, barring the Indian Premier League (IPL) in cricket, has survived this long.

Star Sports, which owns a majority stake in the league, declared its season 10 viewership to be over 225 million, making it the only sport besides cricket to get those kinds of numbers. Stakeholders in the league credit the sport's indigenous origins to its popularity, besides the brevity of matches, the athleticism of its exponents, the overall packaging of the league by the broadcaster, for its success. Broadcast is one of the biggest reasons for any sport or league to be followed and it helps PKL that Star Sports has a stake in it.