Ashley Cole, Shaq asked me about kabaddi: Abhishek Bachchan

The wait is finally over. Are you all set for the first day of the second season?
You're never set. I think the boys are prepared and they can't wait to get started. They've trained for six weeks in Jaipur. At the end of the day it's a sport, so there is an element of luck as well. U Mumba (Jaipur Pink Panthers' opponents) are one of my favourite teams. Ronnie (Screwvala) has been a friend of mine since ages. We had the same opening match like last time. We met them in the final as well, so it's good to see kabaddi getting a rivalry of its own. Hopefully, the first and last fixtures of the last season will be the same as this one with the same result.

How was the mood this time last year?
It's more nerve-racking last time. What happened last season was something that we were wishing on. No one knew what was going to happen. All of us had put our best foot forward and left the rest to God. And, then, it just took off. This year, you see the kind of responsibility that you have and the playground that you're now part of. That said, it's just been one season. We have a lot of work to do. I was very confident about the sport which is why I decided to invest in it. I knew that this sport will work.

We talk about the impact of the Pro Kabaddi League in the country. As someone who travels abroad, how has the response been?
I can't confirm anything, but we've had inquiries from Australia, Canada, America and England to take the Jaipur Pink Panthers to play matches with their local teams. When I was in Rome, I met my friend Ashley Cole who is playing for AS Roma. He kept on asking me about kabaddi cause he had heard about it. I had the pleasure of watching the NBA All-Star Game and happened to have lunch with one of my idols, Shaquille O'Neal. He said 'what is this kabaddi, kabaddi?' People know that there is a sport that's come out of India. That's Ashley Cole and Shaq talking about kabaddi.

Whenever Jaipur Pink Panthers or (Indian Super league franchise) Chennaiyin FC play in Mumbai, you must be one of the few Mumbaikars not rooting for the home side. How's that feeling?
Shockingly, there is no home-and-away type fan feeling in kabaddi. What I found amazing is that people are supporting the sport and not the team regardless of the city where the match is being played. The league hasn't yet reached that level where you will have the banter amongst fans that you see in other sports. In football, there is healthy competition amongst fans and that's what football is all about.

You're a die-hard Chelsea fan. Any plans of getting any stars to the ISL?
So John Terry and Frank Lampard have offered to come down and watch some games during the international break. They are very excited. I hope we can work that out. I had a word with Didier Drogba at his charity ball a while back and asked him 'Hey Diddi, any plans of coming down?' and he told me to give him a year. I'd love to get some former Chelsea players to the ISL and Chennaiyin FC. But the ISL has a long way to go and we need to be realistic when it comes to affording these stars. All of them do know about the ISL and they're looking at it in due course. But we're not going to entice them overnight. Right now, we have to make do with what we have. To see the likes of (Nicolas) Anelka, (Robert) Pires to run on an Indian pitch, it gives you gooseflesh. To sign a footballer like Alessandro Nesta in your team is the stuff that dreams are made of. I think we've a great start. The entire world is watching and it will only get bigger and better.