The phone call that changed Aanil Mohan’s life came while he was fast asleep. By the time he woke up, everything had transformed. U Mumba had secured his services for a record-breaking Rs 78 lakh, the highest-ever bid for a Category D player in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) history. Yet, the young all-rounder from Jasui, a modest village nestled in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, was still coming to grips with the scale of what had just unfolded.
“At first, I couldn`t believe it,” Aanil recalled. “When I found out that U Mumba bought me for Rs 78 lakhs, I just couldn`t believe it was real.”
In a sport traditionally dominated by Haryana and its conveyor belt of kabaddi superstars, Aanil’s rise is a refreshing narrative that transcends geography. His tryst with kabaddi began on the dusty village courts of Jasui, where raw passion and playful bouts laid the foundation for what would become an extraordinary journey.
“I used to play kabaddi in my village,” he recalled. It was during his 10th grade that his innate talent caught the attention of a local coach. Even then, success seemed distant for a boy whose elder brother had already traded sporting dreams for army life, becoming the family’s primary pillar of support.
“My brother used to play more than me. He joined the army, and then my family supported me,” he said.
The turning point came when Aanil made the bold decision to leave the familiar hills of Himachal for Haryana, kabaddi’s heartland. Under the tutelage of Ashan Kumar, former Tamil Thalaivas coach, he spent nearly three years sharpening his skills. A call-up to represent Himachal Pradesh in the Senior Nationals followed. Yet, even that honour hadn’t prepared him for the PKL auction stage.
As franchises battled fiercely for his signature, with Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba locked in an intense bidding war, Aanil was still asleep. “I was sleeping when it happened. By the time I woke up, it was over,” he said.
Reality sank in when he instinctively dialled home, eager to share the life-altering news. Now preparing to don the U Mumba jersey alongside stalwarts like captain Sunil Kumar, also lovingly called ‘Captain Cool’, Aanil is both awed and eager. “I will get to learn a lot from him. It`s very exciting to play with him,” he said.
Having never featured in a league of such magnitude before, Aanil’s humility remains striking. “I have never played in such a big league before. I want to learn a lot,” he admitted.
