What’s the story?
In an exclusive interview with News X, international auctioneer Bob Hayton, who led the auction for the upcoming PKL season revealed how effective the league has been for the development of the sport in the country.
Lauding the Pro Kabaddi League, Hayton had to say, “I can only see it grow and grow. The League is like a Ferrari accelerating from zero to warp factor 10 in no time.”
In case you didn’t know…
Promoted by Mashal Sports, PKL had its inaugural season in 2014. Now, after four successful seasons, the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 is all set to add new heroes to the kabaddi landscape.
The upcoming season will be the biggest of its kind in the history of Indian sport. Marking their geographical expansion, the new season will feature 12 franchises from 11 states, with four new teams joining the existing eight. The tournament will be staged over 13 weeks and host over 130 matches.
Season 4 also saw the launch of first ever professional women’s kabaddi league (WKC). The first season of WKC witnessed 3 teams namely Ice Divas, Fire Birds and Storm Queens battle it out to win the coveted title.
The heart of the matter
The auctions for the latest edition witnessed 12 teams spend a whopping 46.99 crores to acquire 227 players. Indian international Nitin Tomar became the costliest player in the history of Pro Kabaddi League after the new entrants Team Uttar Pradesh bought his service for Rs 93 Lakh. The costliest foreign player to go under the hammer was Iranian Abozar Mohajermighani for 50 lakhs.
Also, the addition of new teams has made PKL the biggest League in terms of teams and geographical coverage. This has, in turn, garnered a symbiotic relationship where more players get exposure to international standards, while the teams get a broader basket of players to choose from.
What’s next?
The date for the start of the new season has been announced and it will be July 28, which falls on a Friday.
Author’s take
The roadmap to commercialize and make everyone aware of Kabaddi is on the right path. The fans of this rustic, rural sport that originated in the subcontinent would be hoping that this season lives up to the expectations set by the promise shown in the previous editions.
