Dabang Delhi captain Kashiling Adake has been one of the standout raiders of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) ever since it began in 2014. Known for his ‘Hanuman’ jumps over onrushing raiders, the lanky Maharashtra boy wasted no time in establishing himself as one of the best and is currently close to breaching the 400 mark.
The first two seasons especially reaped rich dividends as he went on to become the only player to amass more than 100 points in two consecutive seasons. Not only did the PKL bring him fame and superstardom, it also deservedly rewarded him with a golden opportunity to make his India debut at the 2016 South Asian Games.
Here are 10 things you should know about the best raider of Season 2:
#1 Kashiling Adake was born on December 18, 1992 to wrestler Ram Chandra in Kasegaon village in Sangli district of Maharashtra. He was never interested in wrestling and self-admittedly found it scary. He started playing kabaddi in school and it took some time for the young Kashiling to get passionately interested in it.
#2 However, fate took an unfortunate turn. With his father passing away in 2013, the burden of being the family’s bread earner fell on the young shoulders of the 21-year-old. Kashiling had to take up farming and subsequently started working in a sugarcane factory where he would earn a paltry sum of Rs 200 for 8 hours of labour.
#3 Another drastic turn awaited him and this time it was for the better. It was his Kabaddi-playing uncle, Sunil Aadake who opened a window of opportunity for him that eventually turned out to be life-changing. On his uncle’s insistence, he moved to Mumbai to try his luck at the sport.
#4 It was not smooth sailing at all for the youngster. He had to overcome a lot of barriers to be where he is today but those experiences surely toughened him. He faced rejection on his first attempt at the trials held for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Kabaddi team and was straightaway told that he needed to work a lot harder.
#5 Not one to be crestfallen, he understood where his mistakes were and quickly fine-tuned his skills simply by watching the SAI players in action. It was thus no surprise when the Maharashtra boy got the green signal to join its team the very next year.
#6 A serendipitous encounter with the Mahindra team opened up his career further. With their usual ground being waterlogged, Mahindra needed to use the SAI facilities and it was there that they spotted Kashi. He was subsequently asked to join their team where he earned his permanent place 12 months later and went on collect as many as 24 best player awards!
#7 His dazzling performance got noticed and it was the Railways who pursued him first before he turned them down in favour of Bharat Petroleum. Soon after that, he joined the national camp.
#8 It was during his stint at the camp that he was called up for Star Sports Pro Kabaddi and Dabang Delhi chose him, with whom he has played four seasons now. He is one of very few players to have represented the same team for all the four seasons in the tournament.
#9 He is the only player to cross the 100 raid point mark in 2 consecutive seasons (so far). Adake turned in one ruthless display after another and in season 1, he scored 113 points. Season 2, especially, turned out to be a season to remember for him. His consistency saw him finish atop the Raiders’ Leaderboard with 114 points that also gave him the coveted Best Raider Award of the Tournament.
#10 His peak performance so far, which is yet to be surpassed came in a 45-45 draw against the Telugu Titans in the second season. Kashiling scored a colossal 24 points during that home encounter en route to creating the record for the most points scored by a player in a single match. That record was subsequently equalled by Patna Pirates’ Pardeep Narwal in season 3.
