The Pro Kabaddi will back after one year. The league organisers have confirmed the dates and venue for the professional kabaddi league.
Mashal Sports, organizers of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), has announced the return of the league’s season 8, from December 22. The league could not take place last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Keeping the health and safety of the players and all stakeholders in mind, this year the league will be held without spectators, at a single venue in Bengaluru, moving away from the traditional caravan format.
Speaking on the return of PKL Season 8, Anupam Goswami, CEO, Mashal Sports and League Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi League said: “We are very privileged that Season 8 of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League will be hosted in Karnataka, especially as this state is a very significant geography for kabaddi and PKL fans in India. Bengaluru has all the facilities for the conduct of big competitive sports events with best safety practices, and we look forward to demonstrating this with PKL Season 8.”
AlsoRead:- IPL: extends timelines for new teams’ tender process
Welcoming the league to Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said: “Kabaddi is a genuine indigenous sport of India and very popular in Karnataka. We welcome and support the conduct of forthcoming Pro Kabaddi Season 8 in our state.”
The league will implement protocols to comply with government regulations and guidelines and will work with specialized safety agencies to implement stringent safety practices and create a bio – secure bubble, a first for any professional indoor contact sports league in India.
Season 8 of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network (SSN) and Disney+Hotstar.
Earlier, Season 8, which was scheduled to be held in 2020, was cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The Pro Kabaddi League is a professional-level Kabaddi league in India, which was launched in 2014.
The league’s inception was influenced by the popularity of the Kabaddi tournament at the 2006 Asian Games. The format of the competition was influenced by the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Pro Kabaddi League uses a franchise-based model and its first season was held in 2014 with eight teams each of which had paid fees of up to US$250,000 to join.
For the 2017 and 2018–19 season, the Pro Kabaddi League added four new teams, and changed its format to split the teams into two divisions known as “zones”. Soon the league returned to its regular double round-robin format for the 2019 season.
Bengal Warriors are the defending champions of the league. The Warriors had defeated Dabang Delhi 39-34 in the final of season 7 at the Arena Indoor Stadium, Ahmedabad to lift the coveted trophy for the first time in league’s history.
Patna Pirates is the most successful team of the league after winning the trophy thrice.
The Player Auctions for the season were conducted on August 29th – 31st, 2021 in Mumbai.
ReadMore:- Big blow to Pakistan cricket; England calls off proposed tour
