Kabaddi to get IPL-style treatment

Kabaddi in the country is headed for a dash of glamour, may be some fame and much needed money. If all goes to the plan, we could soon see the country's top Kabaddi players go under the hammer in an IPL-style auction, and even experience IPL-style after-parties.

Kabaddi in the country is headed for a dash of glamour, may be some fame and much needed money. If all goes to the plan, we could soon see the country's top Kabaddi players go under the hammer in an IPL-style auction, and even experience IPL-style after-parties.

In a bold new plan, an ambitious league for the indigenous sport, called Pro-Kabaddi will commence in the latter part of July. The league will be along the lines of the IPL and will see eight city-based franchises play each other in a home and away format.

The league, organised by industrialist Anand Mahindra and sports commentator Charu Sharma under the auspices of the International Kabaddi Federation, has already seen considerable interest with seven of the eight franchises already sold.

The franchise owners are media honcho Ronnie Screwvala (Mumbai), Future Group's Kishore Biyani (Kolkata), Kotak Mahindra Bank's Uday Kotak (Pune), Actor Abhishek Bachchan (Jaipur), Yes Bank Managing Director and CEO Rana Kapoor (Delhi), Core Green Group (Vizag), Kalapathi Investments (Chennai). The owner of the Bangalore franchise has yet to be finalised.