The league has grown exponentially heading into its ninth season. Touted as the next big thing after the Indian Premier League – it is gaining increasing momentum through years. Let’s take a look at the legacy it has created and why we think it could turn as big as IPL.u00a0u00a0InceptionKabbadi was born as a collective vision of Deoraj Chaturvedi (an official of the Kabbadi Federation) & Charu Sharma, a renowed kabaddi commentator and founder of Mashal Sports along with Anand Mahindra. Eight franchises were formulated in 2014 with bases across India, namelyu00a0Dabang Delhi, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Telugu Titans,u00a0Bengal Warriors, Bengaluru Bulls,u00a0 and U Mumba.
Riding the wave of the JIO RevolutionSerendipity too played its role in accelerating PKL’s popularity. It became the second-most followed sport in India after cricket. It registered a collective viewership ofu00a0 435m viewers in its first season, catapulting it to mainstream recognition.u00a0
Making athletes global superstarsKabbadi players garnered tremendous fame and became household names. National kabaddi players like,u00a0Manjeet Chillar, Sandeep Narwal, Ajay Thakur,u00a0Anup Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, and Rahul Chaudhari reached celebrity status as their fame and recognition spread far and wide.u00a0
Bollywood celebrities in actionAkshay Kumar owns a stake in the Bengal Warriors, Allu Arjun, Sachin Tendulkar, Ram Charanu00a0were part of the Tamil Thalaivas,u00a0andu00a0Abhishek Bachchan owns the Jaipur Pink Panthers.u00a0
What do you think? Will PKL dominate IPL? Comment down below.
