Ultimate Kho Kho: Format, Rules, Squads, Telecast and more

The final of the league is to be played on 4th September.

India’s first-ever franchise-based Kho-Kho league, Ultimate Kho Kho will kick off today at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra. Six franchises, Chennai Quick Guns, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Khiladis, Odisha Juggernauts, Rajasthan Warriors and Telugu Yoddhas, will battle it out for the Season 1 title over a period of 22 days.The final will be played on September 4.

As India gears up for the Kho-Kho carnival, here is a complete guide to the inaugural edition of the league including format, live broadcast, points system and the squads.

Where to watch:

The league will be telecast in five different languages on Sony Sports Network. SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi & Marathi) SONY TEN 4 (Telugu & Tamil) and SonyLIV.

Matches per day:

There will be two matches played each day with live coverage starting at 7:00 PM IST

Tickets:

Fans can book tickets for the matches on BookMyShow.

League format: 

All the teams will play twice against each other during the 30-match league stage and Top-4 teams progress into a knockout stage which will be played in a playoffs format. Top-2 teams will fight in Qualifier 1, and the winner will directly enter the final. The Eliminator, on the other hand, will see competition between third and fourth-ranked teams for a place in Qualifier 2, where they will play the loser of Qualifier 1. The final will be played between the winners of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2.

Format change at a glance

In order to make this indigenous sport more attractive and intense, Ultimate Kho Kho has made changes in the format of the game, and mat dimensions and also introduced key concepts such as-New Introduction: Wazir and Powerplay. Wazir can move freely in his half, powerplay and review.-Match Time Change: Each match is of two innings with four turns; one innings has two turns of 7 minutes each compared to the traditional Kho-Kho game having turns of 9 minutes each.  -Break Times Revamped: The new format will have a two-minute break between each turn and three minutes break after the end of innings. Traditionally the game has a five-minute break between each turn and a six minutes gap between the innings.  - Mat Size Revamped: To enhance the pace of the game, the mat size had been reduced to 22mX16m from the regular 27mX16m. With a short distance between the attacker and defender, the game will become pacier and witness next-level excitement.- Attacking Block Dimension Changed: The size of attacking blocks, where attackers sit, has also been increased to 40cmX40cm from normal 35cmX30cm to allow attackers to sit comfortably and enable equal pole-to-pole distance and centre point between poles.-Change in Point System: Every touch will now earn an attacking team two points. Normally it is one point in traditional Kho-Kho matches. Additionally, there will be one bonus point for some attacks.

All You Need to know about Ultimate Kho Kho,Format:

Match: Each match will be played with two innings.  Batch: A group of three defenders who enter the field is called a batch. There will be four batches comprising 12 players in a defending team.Innings: Each match will consist of two innings where both the teams will attack and defend twice with a three-minute break between two innings.Turn: Each innings will consist of two turns where a team will attack and defend once with two minutes of break between each turn  Timing of match: Each turn will consist of seven minutes with a two-minute breakStarting line-up: There will be 12 players in the starting line-up with three additional players as part of the injury substitute. The playing 12 will include two Wazirs too.Batch playing format: A remaining batch of the first innings will start first in the next innings whereas only unbeaten batch i.e in case of all three defenders are not out, has option to start the next innings else each new batch needs to take field again.Mat dimensions:To enhance the pace of the game, the mat size had been reduced to 22mX16m from regular 27mX16m. With a short distance between the attacker and defender, the game will no longer be the same and will witness more exciting action.Attacker block: The size of attacking blocks, where attackers sit, has been increased to 40cmX40cm. Generally, it is 35cmX30cm. The increased size of the block will allow attackers to sit comfortably and it will also enable equal pole-to-pole difference and centre point between poles.Entry box: There will be one entry box for both the teams from where defenders will enter the field.Coach arena: The coach arena, adjacent to play field, will allow coach to make strategies with the players during breaks

Points system:

2 points: Every simple touch will earn an attacking team two points.Bonus point: One bonus point will be awarded to the attacking team on three occasions:   -If they capture an opposition player with skilful gameplay like pole dive or sky dive or the defender surrenders (self out/out of field).This additional bonus point can ensure a total of three points per capture for the attacking side.Batch bonus: If one batch defends for more than 2 minutes 30 seconds, they will be given two points and then for each 30-second time period, they will keep getting two bonus points until the entire batch gets out or the turn gets over. A maximum of 20 points can be achieved by the attacking side.

Key Terms:

Wazir: A player taking part in the match as Wazir can move in any direction freely, unlike any other attackers, but only in his attacking half. Points will be awarded the same as a normal player if he captures any player.Powerplay: The powerplay will allow teams to play with two Wazir on the field at the same time. However, two wazirs can be activated for one batch only. Once all three players of that batch are out, powerplay will be over. Each team will have only one powerplay in one inning.  Review: Teams will have one review per innings i.e. two reviews for the entire match. A review should be taken within five seconds.Rest time: There will be a 30-second break after each batch is out 30 i.e. all three defenders. This break will allow teams to make substitutes, strategy and new batch will enter.With the innings, rest breaks and reviews, the match will be played for a period of approximately one hour. And at the end of both the innings, a team with the most points will be declared as the winner.

Squads:

1. Chennai Quick GunsOwner: KLO SportsHead coach: Manohara CAPlayers: Mahesh Shinde, Rajvardhan Patil, M Vignesh, Ramji Kashyap, Patta Narsaya, S Santhru, Sibin M, Amit Patil, Manoj Patil, Daasari Rao, V Kabilan, Madan, P Jai Prasath, P Anand Kumar, Buchannagari Raju, Vijay Vegad, Sachin Gaur, Pritam Chougule, Balvir Singh, Katla Mohan, Venigopal S, Neelakantam Suresh, Jaswant Singh, Vignesh M  

2. Gujarat GiantsOwner: Adani SportslineHead coach: Sanjeev SharmaPlayers: Ranjan Shetty, Pothreddy Shivareddy, Mareppa, Suyash Gargate, Sagar Potdar, T Jagannath Das, Rutishbhai Barde, Abhinandan Patil, Akshay Bhangare, Sagar Lengare, Monoj Sarkar, Dhiraj Bhave, S Kavin Raj, Vinayak Pokarde, Govind Bhat,  Chinmoy Nandi,  Shubham Jambhale, S Sarathkumar, Ajaykumar Mandra, Aniket Pote, Nilesh Patil, Saleem Khan, Debendra Nath and Praful Bhange

3. Mumbai KhiladisOwner: Janhavi Dhariwal Balan, Punit Balan and 

BadshahHead coach: Rajendra SaptePlayers: Milind Kurpe, Rohan Kore, Visag S, Shreejesh S, Vijay Hazare, Faizalkhan Pathan, Abhishek Pathrode, Gajanan Shengal, Durvesh Salunke, Rajesh Kumar, Rohit Verma, Avik Singha, Sribin KP, Saurav Kandpal, Abhishek MS, Bichu SS, Rajat Malik, Rahul Sawant, Harish Mohammad, Devendra Dagur, Gaurav, Srijin J and Ummer Rather

4. Odisha JuggernautsOwner: Odisha Sports Development and Promotion CompanyHead coach: Ashwani Kumar SharmaPlayers: Gowtham MK, Dilip Khandavi, Vishal, Jagannatha Murmu, Aditya Kudale, Nilesh Jadhav, Suraj Lande, Dipesh More, Subhasis Santra, Mahesha P, Avinash Desai, Lipun Mukhi, Dinesh Naik S, Arjun Singh, Suresh Kumar, T Vinod Kumar, Shiv Kumar Sen, Milind Chavrekar, Manoj Ghotekar,  Darshanapu Sathish, Gurjinder Singh, Swayam Satyaprakash and Mukesh Prajapat

5. Rajasthan WarriorsOwner: Capri GlobalHead coach: Narendra KunderPlayers: Abhijit Patil, Dilrajsingh Sengar, Sushant Hajare, Akshay Ganpule, Hrushikesh Murchavade, Sourabh Adavkar, Suresh Sawant, Majahar Jamadar, Mohammad Taseen,  Shailesh Sankapal, Govind Yadav, SK Murtha Ali, Bharat Pradhan, Nikhil B, Yalla Satish, Jithin B, K Dhananjay Singh, Atla Reddy, Tapan Pal, Mahesh M, Biswajit Das, Ashwani Ranjan, Mukesh Maurya and Bhuvneshwar Sahu

6. Telugu YoddhasOwner: GMR SportsHead coach: Sumit BhatiaPlayers: Pratik Waikar, Rohan Shingade, Sudarshan, Arun S A, Arun Gunki, Deepak Madhav, Avdhut Patil, Prajwal KH, Prajval KH, Adarsh Mohite, Prasad Radye, Subramani Y, Anukul Sarkar, Gavara Venkatesh, Sadanand Meitei, P Hemachandran, Dhruv, Chanish C, Aditya Das, Rokeson Singh, Pitu Reddy and Bojjam Ranjith

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