The Next Level

Bachpan ka khel hai, Bachchon ka nahi! proclaims the Season 6 promo of Pro Kabaddi. It shows how the Leagues biggest namesPardeep Narwal, Rahul Choudhari, Deepak Hooda, Rishank Devadiga, Anup Kumar and Monu Goyathave prepared for the physical rigours of the sport. Running, squatting, lifting weights, swimming: exertion and breathless action. The message is clearits a game of alpha athletes

- Deepti Patwardhan

PRO KABADDI, WHICH made its debut in 2014, has hurled the once-rural sport into a new realm of glamour and relevance. They shifted it from mud to mat, from small playing fields to glitzy spot-lit arenas, from indigenous sport to prime-time entertainment. And the new season, which begins on October 7 in Chennai (with the finale in Mumbai on January 5), comes with supersized expectations, given the popularity it has garnered over the seasons.

The League hit new eye-opening highs as six players, five of them Indian, went for a crore or more in the auction in June. The most expensive pick was Goyat, who was bought by Haryana Steelers for 1.51 crore. He became the most expensive non-cricket athlete, superseding the 1.5 crore Bengaluru FC spent on India football captain Sunil Chhetri in the Indian Super League.

To put it into perspective, the best buy only last season was Nitin Tomar at 93 lakh by the UP Yoddha. In the first season, Rakesh Kumar was the most expensive player at 12.8 lakhs.

“It speaks volumes of where the sport is headed,” says U Mumba CEO Supratik Sen. “These players will need to get their pound of flesh, their real value. In the years to come, the prices will double up, if not reach 5 crore. This sport will see the fastest rise of maybe 10,000 per cent. A player who was getting just 8,000 or 10,000 as salary would go on to make 5 crore in three or four years from now.”

Rishank Devadiga, one of the five crorepatis from the auction, was lost for words at the staggering financial progress the players have made.

“The growth has been tremendous,” he said. “We can’t say it in words! I don’t think anyone expected that this can happen in kabaddi and players would make so much money. All the kabaddi players are from middle-class families and it has helped every one of us.”