League of its own: A volleyball contest in Assam is upturning notions of sport

BVL is the brainchild of Abhijit Bhattacharya, that Indian volleyball captain previously living out a quiet life in ONGC.

Don’t you just want the IPL to be in the play-offs already? But there’s still a month-ish to go and because everything there is high-value, high-stakes, high-volume, each day is totally vital. Given what Indians now understand of sporting leagues – franchises, auctions, teams, valuations – that’s the logical course. Leagues are about money, profitability, business, media rights.

Assam’s Brahmaputra Volley League (BVL) is poles apart from the IPL or our ideas of what sports leagues are all about. (Instagram)

Well, there’s really leagues and leagues. Earlier in the year, I attended the finale of a league without franchises or auctions. While