In a bid to promote and popularize the sport, the organizers of the Pro-Kabaddi League are taking it abroad! An Australian side has been formed from recently retired Australian Football League players. They are going to play against an Indian side formed from players from the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) on 28 December in Melbourne. 

The evening of the 28th of December- after stumps on the third day of the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Series will involve two exhibition matches. The Australian team will take on the Indian team. 

This will be followed by the main event which is the PKL All-Stars match between former stars and current marquee players in the league. The PKL’s ‘Melbourne Raid’ which will be held at the John Cain Arena, was birthed from an invitation by Victoria’s tourism arm - Visit Victoria.

The initiative to expand the Pro-Kabaddi League to Australia was initially taken by Victoria authorities followed by a meeting with Disney Star, the official broadcaster of the League where PKL commissioner Anupam Goswami played the catalyst role. 

While speaking to The Sportstar, the PKL commissioner stated, "Our mission is connected to creating a high-quality ground event, which, among other things, will also mean that we'll look at not only high-quality athletes but also high standards of officiating. We will ensure the organization of the match and an on-ground environment where people watching can understand the sport."

He added, “We’re sensitive to the Indian diaspora there but there are also Australians outside the community who we expect to see in the stands. People need to understand what’s happening on the mat and particularly for a contact sport like kabaddi, first-timers can find it a bit hard. PKL has solid blinkers on when it comes to fandom and consumption. The idea is to replicate the same there.”

Australia has experienced kabaddi before as a team participated in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. The captain of that team, Campbell Brown was very gracious to speak positively of the sport and its following in India.