Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s captain Nasir Ali believes kabaddi has the potential to grow bigger than just a traditional game with the upcoming Super Kabaddi League with foreign players also being a part of the inaugural event starting from May 2 in Lahore. Ali, who has been a regular in the Pakistan team since 2008 and captained the side to medals at major events including Asian Games, will be representing his hometown team Faisalabad, out of the 210 players that were drafted this week in Lahore. The 35-year-old said Saturday that the greatest motivation for him was playing for his hometown and the project can be ground-breaking for the local players. “It is a big event, something that we had been waiting to start in Pakistan for a long time,” Ali was quoted as saying. “We’ve seen the example with cricket and Pakistan Super League. I feel that people will enjoy kabaddi too. It’s not just a traditional game, we compete at the Asian Games too and this can really bring out our own values as a nation with this sport.”

The event will be featuring 10 city-based teams namely Peshawar Haiders, Faisalabad Sherdils, Gujrat Warriors, Gwadar Bahadars, Karachi Zorawars, Multan Sikandars, Sahiwal Bulls, Islamabad All-Stars, Lahore Thunders and Kashmir Janbaazs. Ali added that the purpose of the league was to help the players and in his team alone, there were seven new players and only three old ones, including him. “The new generation needs it and the promotion of the sport can only happen effectively if new players keep coming in. In my team there are all new players and only three of us are old. This will give the youngsters a chance to prove themselves, and at the same time they get to learn as well,” said Ali.

The international players can add more depth to the event elevating kabaddi’s status as an international sport. “We have one Sri Lankan player in our side too and that says a lot about the sport. In Asian games even the number of participating teams has increased. We have foreign players in other teams too,” revealed Ali.

He added that the new talent can get a place in the national side too for the Asian Games this year. “We have two international events that are coming up and if there are good players than they will be picked for the national team as well. It’s the best way to know where the talent is, but at the same time it is all very competitive for everyone,” explained Ali who will be leading the Pakistan team in the Asian games this year. He said all sides were balanced and would give tough competition to each other.

“Lahore is a good venue, of course having kabaddi in Faisalabad would be great too because people love it, but Lahore can also bring great crowds,” said Ali when asked where his team would be preparing for the event. On the other hand, the seasoned player spoke of his experience in India where he played for two seasons in 2015 and 2016. “They are well organised and it was a learning experience for us. In fact, for some time we had been wishing that something similar could take place in Pakistan too and I’m hoping that this league continues in the future and takes place regularly to build a strong fan base and also to monetarily benefit the players,” concluded Ali.

Published in Daily Times, April 29^th 2018.