How kabaddi in its modern avatar has caught the fancy of the nation.
A Skoda Rapid comes to a screeching halt at a 10-acre farm in Kathura village. It’s a bright Saturday morning, the last one in April, and farmers in the Sonipat district of Haryana are getting ready to harvest the standing wheat crop. Sandeep Narwal steps out of his brand new white car. The sky blue tracksuit and white jersey with orange streaks worn by the 5.9 feet Narwal stand out against the backdrop of a dull brownfield.
Twenty minutes later, around 8.30 am, Narwal’s father reaches the farm in his tractor. In what seems like a tribute to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, the blue Ford machine has ‘Number 10’ inscribed in big, bold font. It was in November 2017 when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to retire Jersey number 10 donned by the batting legend during his 24 year long career.
The father-son duo, within a few minutes, get down to work. “I neither played nor watched cricket,” says the senior Narwal, bemused by this writer’s reference to the number 10. “I don’t know what jersey number are you talking about.” Number 10, he explains, is the shirt worn by his son Sandeep. The 25-year-old kabaddi player was bought by the Ronnie Screwvala-owned team U Mumba for a staggering 89 lakh in the 2019 auction of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in the second week of April. “Number 10 is kabaddi. Number 10 is not cricket,” he chuckles, beckoning his son who is a few metres away.
Sandeep echoes the sentiments of his father, who once played kabaddi at the state level. “Kabaddi will soon become bigger than cricket,” says Sandeep, who was picked in the first season of PKL for 7.4 lakh. “It’s no longer a poor man’s sport,” he adds, as he slaps his thigh with pride.
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