5 reasons why kabaddi can rival cricket for popularity in India

Cricket has been India’s most popular sport for the past few decades. Despite not being the national sport, the game between a bat and a ball played over a pitch of 22 yards enjoys mass popularity and has become a cult religion for Indians. The players playing the sport are considered no less than Gods while prayers are offered before every major match or tournament.However, despite all of its virtues, cricket can’t be called India’s own sport – a tag which is synonymous with kabaddi. The sport was invented by India and has been played by the nation for ages. The Indian national kabaddi team has steamrolled through in all the competitions, winning all the international tournaments on offer, but one thing that stands out is the indifference with which the sport is viewed by the Indians.But, with the inception of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, we have seen a mass increase in viewership and popularity of the sport. Kabaddi players have become household names while kids have begun to play the sport in the lanes which used to just bear host to a game of cricket after school. But, can kabaddi ever rival, if not overtake, cricket in terms of popularity in India?Well, this may be true because:

#1 Speed and fitness

Kashiling Adake jumps over the U Mumba defence

Kabaddi is a sport suitable for only the fittest of athletes. The sport requires players to hold their breath, leap and stretch far, jump high and use their strength to tackle the opposition. All of this is expected to be done as fast as possible with the difference between winning a match or losing being a fraction of a second.

With so many athletic qualities being displayed in a single sport, it is no doubt that kabaddi is exciting to watch. Fans lap up all the action in seconds and there would be very few, if any, viewers who would not admire the kabaddi players for their fitness.

#2 India\'s dominance in kabaddi

The victorious Indian kabaddi team on the top of the podium at the 2014 Asian Games

In the 11 cricket World Cups played till date, India has won 2 – 1983 and 2011. This is a commendable feat, but compared to India’s dominance in the sport of kabaddi, the country’s achievements in the game between the bat and ball look miniscule. The indomitable Indians have not been beaten in any major competition in the sport’s recent history.

India has won all the World Cups held in all formats of the sport while winning gold medals in all 7 Asian Games men’s kabaddi event apart from winning both the gold medals on offer in women’s kabaddi at the same event. These are extremely pride-inducing accomplishments for an Indian and is one of the main reasons why kabaddi can rival cricket for popularity in the sub-continent.

#3 Duration

Cricket players exit the field for lunch after 1/3rd of the day is played

The shortest format of a cricket match takes at least 3-4 hours to finish. Within this time, 5-6 kabaddi matches could be played. A kabaddi match takes just 40 minutes to conclude and keeps its viewers on the edge of their seats throughout those 40 minutes.

A Test match lasts for 5 days, while a one-day international can take up to 10 hours. In this fast-paced world, where time is considered more valuable than gold, a kabaddi match, which has action, speed and strength packed in less than an hour, provides all the drama minus the investment of a lot of time, which cricket requires.

#4 No controversies

The controversy surrounding Sreesanth refuses to die down

Cricket has been embroiled in controversy in recent history of the sport. The sport has been rife with claims of match-fixing, spot-fixing, doping and more. The biggest names in the sport like Hansie Cronje, Sreesanth and Mohammed Azharuddin are just a few examples of the stars who were involved in fixing. On the other hand, Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar and more cricketers have been involved in doping cases in the sport.

Kabaddi, on the other hand, has barely had any, if not none, negative publicity. This point was touched by Pro Kabaddi franchise Jaipur Pink Panthers owner Abhishek Bachchan, who called kabaddi as one of the cleanest sports.

With fans getting disappointed by such negative stories surrounding cricket, kabaddi can provide a welcome alternative.

#5 Shift to other sports

The 1983 World Cup win changed the face of cricket in India

Back in early 1980s hockey’s popularity in the sub-continent was on a downward spiral, cricket took over the reins as India’s most popular sport. With India’s World Cup win in 1983 co-inciding with a dark period in Indian hockey, cricket replaced hockey as the country’s favourite sport.

A sport which produced 11 Olympic medals, which include 8 gold and 1 silver, was easily shifted out in favour of this new fad – cricket.

Kabaddi can have a similar impact as the audience become more open to other sports. By finishing top of all the World Cups, Asian Games and other international tournaments, India has been quite dominant and once the crowd is made aware of the same, it won’t be long before kabaddi becomes the main sport of the second-most populous country in the world.