NEW DELHI: During the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, another sport, close to Indian hearts, will be played at a walking distance. On 28 December, fans will be able to amble across to the John Cain Arenapart of the Melbourne Park – which hosts tennis’ Australian Open Grand Slam – and watch high intensity kabaddi.
For the first-time, an exhibition kabaddi game will take place on foreign shores after Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) accepted an invitation from Visit Victoria to take the game to Melbourne.
Soon after stumps on Day 3 at the MCG, PKL athletes will get things underway against former Australian Football League (AFL) players. The second of two exhibition fixtures is the marquee event where PKL All-Stars of the yesteryears will square off with current stars to enthrall not just the large Indian diaspora in Melbourne but also the ex-cricketers who are commentating on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
For PKL, its organisers Mashal Sports, broadcaster Disney Star and league commissioner Anupam Goswamithe aim is to take an indigenous Indian sport to Melbourne, “one of the great sporting destinations in the world.”
“To do Kabaddi there (in Melbourne) is… it’s a dream come true for athletes, for officials, for the league. To take Kabaddi to a geography where sport is in the very being of people, and it embodies all the sensibilities and values they uphold, it offers you a much bigger potential to create engagement, traction, following and eventually playing, playing the spot,” said Anupam in an exclusive conversation with TimesofIndia.com.
“I think we will remember that one of the most popular kabaddi teams who were there at the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad was the Australian side. And the captain of that side, Campbell Brown, will be coaching a team,” he added.
Brown, as it turns out, played a role in nudging Visit Victoria towards PKL as the next partnership.
“Before the invitation was issued, Campbell was someone we spoke with and he talked in glowing terms about experience in 2016, in glowing terms about the nature of the sport and the sort of capacity of Australian Rules footballers, to perhaps be ready to take on the intricacies of kabaddi,” revealed Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements.
Is there concern that cricket could steal the limelight from kabaddi? “No, I think, I think it’s more complementary than competitive for two sports. This game will be telecast in India as well. As stumps fall, we move across the road to John Cain Arena and then bring this sport as well,” stated McClements.
“We think it actually is a great extension of showcasing Indian sport, and selfishly the state of Victoria and the city of Melbourne, because this gives us a great opportunity between both cricket and the PKL to really talk about to an Indian population increasingly, a population increasingly travelling, increasingly interested in travelling to Australia on what makes Melbourne great,” he stressed.
Goswami agreed with the notion that cricket and kabaddi on the same day would be beneficial for those in Melbourne and for those watching at home.
“It actually gives you the best possible opportunity to showcase another sport. It will allow kabaddi to leverage popular engagement and broadcast consumption for kabaddi from cricket.
McClements notified that they are in conversation with Cricket Australia to get the message out there to fans in attendance that there is an opportunity to witness kabaddi on December 28.
Leading the lines for the Australian kabaddi team would be Joshua Kennedy who played for the Sydney Swans in the AFL. He will swap the outdoor sport, the lush green grass and massive field for an indoor arena, rectangular mat and cramped spaces.
“Honestly, it’s very different. Starting at the size of the field. There’s similarities around the athleticism, speed, power, strength, perhaps we need a little bit more endurance to play Aussie rules. But look, spending the last two days here and learning about the intricacies, you know, it’s been a great pleasure and honour. I’ve been taught a lot of the intricacies and body position and all that sort of stuff. So I look forward to taking that back. But look, it is a completely different sport and I think that’s the appeal to it as well, is that it’s different to anything we have,” said Kennedy who led the Swans to AFL Premiership title in 2012 and was a three-time member of the All-Australian Team.
“Albeit, as I think it is a sport that in one form or another, a lot of people played as a child, you know, as tag, a British bulldog, you name it. I think all around the world people play some form of kabaddi in one way or another. And it does have a nostalgic sort of feel to it. When you’re, when you’re out there and running around and playing,” he added.
Pro Kabaddi Melbourne Raid will take place at John Cain Arena in Melbourne on December 28.
