What We Know About Pro Kabaddi League 9 So Far

The VIVO Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 8 already ended a few months ago with Dabang Delhi finally getting its very first title. The season ended with a match between this team and Patna Pirates with a 36 – 37 score. In total, this season had 137 games.

Kabaddi is one of the rising sports in India and many would say that it has the potential to be as big as cricket. After all, people are also betting a lot on this sport. 10CRIC is considered as the best live betting site in India for cricket but now, it also offers odds on kabaddi. That’s how relevant this sport has now become.

Many fans are already looking forward to watching the next season of the PKL and if you’re a fan yourself, there are still a few months ahead because the next season will start in December. There are no official announcements yet about the schedule of the upcoming PKL, but we have the latest scoops for you.

Possible Schedule

Since there are no announcements about the next PKL just yet, the current expected date for the start of this season is the same as last year, which is on December 22, 2022. It may also still take place at the Sheraton Grand, Whitefield in Bengaluru. There are rumours of PKL returning to old window of July to October but we have not receive any confirmation of the same.

Whether the match will finally be open to spectators is still unknown. It is likely since the IPL matches had crowds this year. 

If this season starts on December 22, it should run until February 25, 2023, with another 137 matches. The following teams are still expected to be part of the next season:

• Bengal Warriors
• Bengaluru Bulls
• Dabang Delhi KC
• Gujarat Giants
• Haryana Steelers
• Jaipur Pink Panthers
• Patna Pirates
• Puneri Paltan
• Tamil Thalaivas
• Telugu Titans
• U Mamba
• UP Yoddha

Before the official PKL start, there is also the auction. It is also likely that the PKL auction 9 will take place around the same time as last year. That said, the schedule of the auction is from 5th August to 6th August 2022. The auction includes the auction of both domestic and international kabaddi players.

Last year, the auction pool has over 450 players and this may still be the case this year. Last year, the highest final bid went to UP Yoddha’s raider, Pardeep Narwal. He was purchased for 165 Lakh. He is followed by Telugu Titans’ raider, Siddarth Desai for 130 Lakh.

Meanwhile, the official broadcaster of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League is still Disney + Hotstar and Star Sports Network. KhelNow.com will still have the latest news and updates about the upcoming PKL events.

Other Updates

While the PKL is still quiet about the details of the next season, PKL scouts recently made the news when they were seen at the Khelo India Youth Games. Six PKL teams have sent scouts to this event to find and discover players who they can train and eventually play in the pro scene.

MV Sundaram, the deputy coach of Patna Pirates, was one of the scouts who were in the games. He was interviewed about this and said, “Some of us also went for the Khelo India University Games. But these games are for under-18 players which means we can sign them up without going through the rigmarole of auction.”

The teams will still have to fill sports for new young players because only the players who have participated in the Senior Nationals will be part of the PKL auction pool. Typically, they sign youngsters for two years and see things from there.

They will have to see if these youngsters are capable of making their teams win championships. KIYG players are typically absorbed to train with the main team so they can learn the job and be honed into champions. 

Tamil Thalaivas’ head coach, Uday Kumar, spoke about the matches they have seen. He said, “We have seen almost all the matches. The players are quite good. “[They] have great skill and physique.”

Anil Caprana, U-Mamba, and Army Green’s coach were also impressed with the matches they have seen. He said that picking players at this young age is a win-win situation. “We might be looking at junior boys here. There is some really good talent on sight. As they play more, they will improve and they can also earn good money,” Caprana said.

According to sources, there are already several players whom these scouts are interested in. They are the ones who’ll most likely get an invite for trials.