Why are 15 officials involved in a single Pro Kabaddi match? Here are the details of the umpires' roles in PKL

Ever since the advent of the Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL), the game's structure in the country has completely changed. A sport that was played on the mud has been revived and is now played on the mat. The new format has boosted viewership of the sport in India.

If there is another group of people that have benefitted immensely from the start of the PKL, they are the umpires and the referees. With a good amount of screen time, they have become known faces in the sporting community in India. PKL has indeed, changed the way people look at kabaddi.

On camera, there are 2-3 umpires who are on the mat controlling the whole match. We also see some line umpires on both sides of the court. But do you know a whopping 15 officials are involved in a single PKL match? This number might be surprising, but officiating a game of kabaddi that is so quick and relentless is a mighty task. Let’s deep dive into the details to understand the roles of all 15 officials involved.

1. Referee (1 no.) – This is the main referee who conducts the entire match. He leads all the decisions and coordinates with other officials to make the final decision.

2. Umpires (2 no.s) – There are two umpires in a PKL match, U1 and U2 (Umpire 1 and Umpire 2), who are beside the court and also make the decisions. U1 stays with the referee (on the referee side) while U2 stays on the other side of the court. Starting from bonus to touch points, all these decisions are made by these three umpires. U1 and U2 basically act as a helping hand to the referee.

3. Line Umpires (2 no.s) – These two umpires cover the maximum distance in a single PKL match. They keep moving from one corner of the mat to the other to keep a check if no defender steps out of the back line during a raid. They also help the referee in decision making.

We all saw how important the roles of line umpires in the match (No. 57) between Bengaluru Bulls and Bengal Warriors. In the match, the raider scored eight points from a single raid, all because he went into the lobby without touching any of the defenders while they followed him. Hence, all the defenders were declared out. Line umpires were required to identify the six players who had stepped into the lobby.

4. Assistant Scorers (2 no.s) – They are the two umpires who sit with the teams on the benches. According to kabaddi rules, a player gets revived in the same order as he was out during the match. To keep a check on this, the assistant scorers are seated on the benches.

They can also convey to the referee, U1 or U2, if they feel any coach or player sitting on the bench has disobeyed the rules of the match. In consultation with the referee, the players or coaches would be punished accordingly. In Kabaddi, players and coaches mostly get cards for any kind of foul play or for disobeying the rules.

5. Scorer (1 No.) – He is the main scorer whose only job is to keep an eye on the referee’s decision after every raid. He has to understand the signals shown by the referee after every raid and jot it down on the score sheet.

6. Do-or-Die Raid Umpire (1 No.) – The do-or-die raid observer has a buzzer with him, and he has to press that on every third empty raid.

7. Electronic Time Umpire (1 No.) – They who takes care of the timings that run on the LED screen which we see. He also needs to keep an eye on the referee’s decision to start and stop at the correct intervals.

8. Electronic Scorer (1 No.) – The one that we read above is a manual scorer. The electronic scorer sits beside the manual scorer and runs the correct scores on the big screens and televisions.

9. The Ground Coordinator & TCR Coordinator (1 each) – Both of them are only there to coordinate between the on-ground umpires and the ones sitting in the Technical Control Rooms.

The do-or-die observers sit in the Technical Control Room and they tell their issues to the TCR coordinator who then conveys it to the Ground Coordinator to inform the same to the on-ground referee and umpires. It's a lengthy process, but it's required to give viewers uninterrupted Kabaddi action. This is mostly done when there is some technical issue in the TC room and the machines stop working.

10. Substitution/Warning Card Record (1 No.) – When players are substituted or coaches are given cards, the ground coordinator conveys it to the TCR coordinator who then helps to make the changes on the big screen.

11. Raid Wise Analysis of Match Official Decisions (1 No.) – This person basically analyzes the decisions of the officials in the entire match. Suppose in a raid, Umpire 2 has given the decision first, this person’s job is to keep an eye on who followed the decision and if they made any changes to that. These decisions are then analyzed by the umpires after the match and whoever gave the decision first is questioned.

Out of the 15 umpires, 7 of them are on the mat and we always see them on the TV, 4 of them sit on the table and the rest 4 (do-or-die raid observer, electronic timer, electronic scorer and TCR coordinator) sit inside the TC room who just watch the matches live on TV. They are the ones who just make decisions like we all do sitting at home.

Normal day-to-day activities inside the bubble

“In the morning, we start with fitness sessions and then go for video analysis sessions (analysis of our previous matches). Then afterwards, we leave for our respective rooms where we prepare the match-reports of our previous matches. If the matches are at 07:30 PM, we leave our rooms two hours prior, i.e., at 05:30 PM”, explained Sasmita Das (Int’l Kabaddi Official), in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.

Preparation before the match

According to Sasmita, one hour before the match, when the posting is done, they go to their respective positions and practice for a few minutes in front of the mirror. They have a Match Official room where they all sit together and discuss among themselves about their roles before the match.

The most important thing is they face the camera and for that they need to have the desired confidence to give correct decisions. After all, the entire country is watching them. Hence, they try to emulate the same situations in front of the mirror.

“We also practice the names of the teams before the match. Suppose today, the match is between Dabang Delhi and Haryana Steelers, we repeatedly utter both of their names before the match. We try to by-heart it. But being human and in a fast-paced game like Kabaddi, mistakes happen. Referees are always neutral. We don’t talk with any players or coaches in between the league. Here in Kabaddi, integrity matters a lot and the onus is on us to maintain the integrity”, added the experienced official.

How do the umpires interact with each other during the match?

The umpires use sign language. Suppose there is a bonus, they have hand action, eye action, face action, by which they talk with their counterparts. The most important part of good coordination is eye contact. It is sign language that helps them perform better.

Total Number of Officials in a single PKL season

There are a total of 37 referees, umpires and technical officials in this season of PKL. Detailed division below:

Umpires and Referees - 30

TV Umpires - 3

Technical Supervisor - 2

Results Manager - 1

Technical Director - 1

A group of 30 umpires are divided into two groups of 15 each. When asked how the workload is managed when there are three matches in a single day, Sasmita said, “Our Technical Director E. Prasad Rao sir has divided the matches equally. If Group A does two matches, next weekend Group B will do two. So, we don’t face any workload issues.”

Officials are an integral part of any tournament. We hope they keep growing along with the players.

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