Kho Kho World Cup 2025: The Wazir and other rules that matter

The inaugural edition of the Kho Kho World Cup is here and the opening ceremony at New Delhi on Monday night ushered in a sense of anticipation.

And the excitement was palpable when Nepal pushed the Indian men to the brink before running out of steam in a 37-42 loss to the hosts.

Chances are that most Indians have played the sport at some stage and are somewhat familiar with the rules.

That said, those watching the live broadcast could be forgiven for having taken a while to catch up on some of the guidelines and terminologies being used.

Here’s a quick snapshot.

Wazir

After the toss of a coin, a team opts to either ‘attack’ or ‘defend’.

The attackers are crouched on their knees while the defenders sprint across the length of the mat whilst evading the attackers. No change here.

Now, you’ll notice one of the attackers wearing a jersey that is different from his or her teammates. This player is the ‘Wazir’.

The ‘Wazir’ has a special power. This player can change his or her direction when pursuing a defender, something that other attackers cannot do. That said, just like the other attackers the ‘Wazir’ cannot cross the central lane when on a pursuit.

Dream Run

The defenders are said to be on a ‘dream run’ when they can stay on the mat for a period of at least three minutes.

With every ‘dream run’, the defending team earns one point and thereafter, they earn an extra point for every additional 30 seconds that they stay on the mat while evading the attacker.

It is important to note that a 'dream run' can be achieved by a group of defenders or a solitary defender.

In other words, if a batch of three defenders arrive on the mat and two of them have been touched out, the only remaining defender can still stay long enough on the mat to effect a 'dream run'. 

Innings and ‘turn’

Every Kho Kho match consists of two innings and across both these innings, a team gets to attack and defend twice.

Also, each inning has two 'turns'.

At the Kho Kho World Cup, each 'turn' in an inning lasts 7 minutes long during which the defenders enter the mat in batches of three players during a given 'turn'.

And those familiar with the game will recognize that a team has 12 players.

Now that you are acquainted with the rules, tune in and enjoy a World Cup with a difference.