Mumbai , India ( CNN ) -- If you grew up in India , chances are you played kabaddi as a child . I did . My friends did . Bollywood actor and now professional kabaddi league team owner , Abhishek Bachchan says he did too . So when you talk about kabaddi , there 's a whiff of nostalgia associated with the sport . As children , we played kabaddi in the garden . You do n't need any equipment . We just drew two lines in the mud , that 's it . What you need is strength and stamina ... and you should be able to hold your breath for at least 30 seconds . What is kabaddi ? Kabaddi is one of India 's oldest indigenous sports . It 's basically a mix of school-yard tag and wrestling . You have two teams of seven players who stand on either side of a line . Each team sends a `` raider '' across to the other side , one by one . The raider must tag as many opponents as he can and rush back to his side before the defenders catch him . Sounds simple ? It is , though there is a twist : the raider must hold his breath the entire time he 's trying to tag someone and keep chanting `` kabaddi , kabaddi , kabaddi '' to prove he 's not taking another breath . `` Here is a sport which is a mixture of rugby , wrestling and it 's got the strategy of chess . It 's fantastic , '' says Bachchan . Unfortunately , kabaddi faded away over the years . It was still played , but predominantly in rural areas . In urban India , it lost out to other sports like cricket and to a lesser extent , football , which are televised and so very easy to watch . `` We have become this one sport nation , '' says well-known Indian sports commentator Charu Sharma . `` It 's a bit of a monster . Cricket has had a huge head start in terms of visibility on TV , which is a big deal in sport . Most sports are only as popular as their live TV coverage , so that is what is required . '' TV rebirth . But now kabaddi is finally getting it . Sharma has teamed up with Indian business tycoon Anand Mahindra to launch India 's first pro kabaddi league , based along the lines of Indian cricket 's successful Indian Premier League ( IPL ) . There are eight franchises owned by corporate czars and Bollywood stars , and matches are played indoors on a large mat . In another huge boost for kabaddi , major broadcaster Star Sports decided to screen these matches live every night on prime time television . `` The network felt the need to foster a multi-sport culture in India , '' says Uday Shankar , CEO of Star India . It 's a gamble . Will audiences tune in to watch a sport that India has ignored for years ? It seems they 're intrigued . Star Sports says the inaugural game -- played in a stadium packed with celebrities , smoke machines and loud music -- was watched by 66 million viewers across the country . That 's 10 times higher than the Indian figures for the FIFA World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia . `` Everybody thinks of kabaddi as a very rural , basic , aggressive sport , you play on the grass or in the mud , but when you see international kabaddi today , its exhilarating , '' says Bachchan . Rakesh Kumar , one of India 's most celebrated kabaddi players says he ca n't believe his sport is enjoying such a resurgence . `` In my dreams I never thought I 'd see a day like this . '' Want to know more ? Click here .
Kabaddi is one of India 's oldest indigenous sports -- it 's basically a mix of school-yard tag and wrestling . Kabaddi 's popularity faded away over the years , as sports like cricket dominated TV coverage . Now a new professional league is underway , and is being screened by a major Indian broadcaster .