Haryana's 'Champions League': The Reality and Future of Kabaddi's Second Tier

Let me tell you where the beat started: on an empty terrace, in the quiet. In 2026, while finishing my sociology thesis on stadium culture in Lagos, I watched local football leagues hemorrhage crowds while European watch parties packed viewing centers. That experience taught me that the stands tell the real story before the scoreboard does. Today, I cover kabaddi from Pakistan, and the recent news about the Kabaddi Champions League (CKL) reminds me of that empty terrace. The news is that the CKL is expanding from eight to ten teams. Two new franchises have been added: Jhajjar Jaguars and Kurukshetra Knights. The league says it seeks to strengthen its presence. The auction purse has increased to Rs 5 crore (approx. USD 600,000), and the auction pool featured over 300 players. On the surface, this paints a picture of a growing, successful league. But kabaddi is a sport where the smell of the soil matters more than the statistics. The geographic reality of this league is that all ten teams are named after Haryana cities: Jhajjar, Kurukshetra, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Karnal, Gurugram, Sonipat, Panipat, Faridabad, and Hisar. This is not a national Champions League. It is a Haryana state league dressed in national and international branding. Haryana is India's kabaddi heartland, where wrestlers and kabaddi players from the soil dream of government jobs and Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) contracts. This league is tapping that immense talent pool because the PKL is suffering uncertainty over its thirteenth season's broadcast rights. PKL 13 has been pushed to June-July 2027, which is precisely why the CKL has found the opportunity to fill the void. Based on my years of watching matches, I can say that the auction prices here do not say much. The top-priced players are Ayan Lochab (Rs 17.4 lakh, Jhajjar Jaguars), Bharat Hooda (Rs 16.6 lakh, Karnal Kings), and Naveen Goyat (Rs 15.2 lakh, Kurukshetra Knights). But one thing stands out. Sunil Malik, described as India's Asian Games captain, was signed by Faridabad Fighters for only Rs 10 lakh. That is less than Lochab's price. If he is genuinely a national team captain, this price is a 'name discount,' possibly due to age, injury, or a defensive role. The original report presents this as neutral fact and never interrogates the anomaly, which is a major gap. The deep roots of kabaddi in Haryana's soil are this league's greatest strength. At central trials in Sonipat, 6,400 players registered, and 650 in Rohtak. This is the most authentic signal: rural India's talent and interest. But alongside this, a big question remains: who is buying the broadcast rights? What sponsorships exist? What about player contracts and future security? The original report does not answer these. I remember covering the NPFL during the 2026 lockdown and hearing about a goalkeeper who sold mobile phone accessories to survive. Calculating the CKL's 300-player pool and Rs 5 crore purse, the average player's salary is likely very low. This paints a picture of a semi-professional labor market. If this league cannot provide genuine professional contracts and protection for players, it will remain just an event, not a sustainable institution. Another major risk is the league's administrative opacity. Is it sanctioned by the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) or the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF)? Who operates this league? Without these answers, questions may also arise about players' eligibility for national team pathways. The PKL proved that a local sport can be made profitable through entertainment packaging, auctions, and prime-time broadcast. The CKL is a smaller, cheaper version of that model. It is exploiting the PKL's broadcast vacuum. But the question is, is this opportunity permanent? If the PKL secures a new broadcast partner by 2027, the CKL risks losing its relevance. I recall an early incident from my career. In 2026, when I interviewed rising star Soumya Sarkar for The Daily Star, I understood that a player's story is not just about their individual talent, but about the system around them. The CKL is the same. It is not just a ten-team league; it is a mix of Haryana's rural talent, the PKL's uncertainty, and the reality of India's second-tier kabaddi. So, what is the next signal? Two things to watch. One, who gets the PKL 13 broadcast rights and when. Two, whether the CKL itself can secure any national broadcast or sponsorship deal. If it cannot, then this league may remain a successful regional event in Haryana, never attaining national league status. Is this good for kabaddi, then, or just a temporary fix? Only time will tell.