Regulation that now allows a player adorning the Wazir role to go right or left from the centreline makes the sport more exciting
Abhinandan Patil with his Best Wazir reward. Though this symbolic cheque states Rs 50,000, Patil received a total of Rs 75,000
Maharashtra’s kho-kho stalwart Abhinandan Patil emerged the first Best Wazir in the recently-concluded KKFI 2021 Super League in New Delhi.
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All-rounder Patil, 20, who represented Jaguars and had around 50 dismissals to his credit in five games, was thrilled to get Rs 75,000 and a trophy.
“I performed really well, but didn’t expect to get this Best Wazir award in the inaugural championships,” Patil told mid-day from New Delhi on Tuesday.
“The introduction of Wazir has totally changed the acuity of kho-kho. With this rule, a player who is playing as a Wazir is allowed to go anywhere from the centre line towards his right or left to get an opponent [batsman] out. Now, two Wazirs at a time are allowed to play in a team while attacking. So, it will prominently become a fielding side's game as the batsmen can hardly last for a minute,” remarked the Ichalkaranji-based Patil.
Another India player, Aniket Pote, who led Jaguars, said: “With the introduction of new rules, it’s a testing time for defenders [batting side]. Earlier, the kho-kho ground was of eight tracks, now it is only six. And having two Wazirs in the side helps the fielding side to control the game.”
Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) secretary MS Tyagi said it’s necessary to have some changes in the rules to popularise the game amongst players as well as spectators.
“Even those people who don’t know much about this game, thoroughly enjoyed it during the competition. It’s possible only because of the introduction of Wazir. Even in cricket, when T20 was introduced, the majority of people opposed it. But today it has developed as the best format of the game [to some], Tyagi said.
Maharashtra’s Pratik Waikar (11 points) led from the front to hand his team Pahadi Billas a six-point win (31-25) over Panthers in a thrilling final.
The championships were played as part of the KKFI and Ultimate Kho Kho-organised first-ever High-Performance Evaluation and Scientific Assessment training camp. The winners and runners-up team in the men’s event received Rs 2 lakh and 1.50 lakh respectively.
Panthers Solapur-based Ramji Kashyap was adjudged the best chaser, while Thane’s Mahesh Shinde (Pahadi Billas) received the best runner award; each receiving Rs 50,000.
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