Bowlers in cricket and corners in kabaddi..what is Manpreet’s funda?

In a country like India, no sport other than cricket has been very popular for the last several years. With the advent of the Pro Kabaddi League, however, the situation has begun to change. Many young players, school children are now looking at kabaddi as an option. If someone had said that cricket and kabaddi have similarities, you would have driven them crazy. But now Gujarat Fortune Giants coach Manpreet Singh himself has pointed out the same link between cricket and kabaddi. Manpreet was speaking at a live session of ‘Beyond the Mat’ organized by the Pro Kabaddi League.

Speaking on the occasion, Manpreet said,

“No one is happy with bowling in India. If you go to any academy, you only see batsmen. They all want to bat. So is kabaddi. If you go to kabaddi academy, you will find all the raiders. No one wants to defend. But if you want to win the game, you have to balance the team.”

Just as cricket has bowlers, batsmen and all-rounders, so does a kabaddi team. Speaking in detail on this, Manpreet said,

“Kabaddi has left and right corners. They are fast bowlers. Left and right covers are the spin bowlers of the team. Those who are raiders are the batsmen and the one raider in the centre is the all-rounder of the team. That’s how a kabaddi team is formed. You can’t win matches with just batsmen. Game of Kabaddi is built on a similar logic as well. If you want to win matches, you have to have a balanced team. ”

Manpreet played a season of pro kabaddi from Patna Pirates. He had led Patna to the title this season.