Pro Kabaddi League

"PKL" redirects here. For other uses, see PKL (disambiguation).

Pro League
Country India
First tournament2014
Tournament formatDouble round-robin league and playoffs
Number of teams12
Current championsPuneri Paltan (1st title)
Most successfulPatna Pirates (3 titles)
Most raid pointsIndia Pardeep Narwal (1699)[1]
Most tackle pointsIran Fazel Atrachali (500)
TV partner(s)Star Sports 2
Star Sports 1 Hindi
Star Sports 1 Tamil
Star Sports 1 Telugu
T Sports (Bangladesh)
SloganLe Panga
Websiteprokabaddi.com
2024 Pro Kabaddi League season
Seasons

Pro Kabaddi League[2] or abbreviated to PKL is an Indian men's professional Kabaddi league. It was launched in 2014 and is broadcast on Star Sports.[3] It is the most popular kabaddi league in the world. It is also the second most watched sports league in India after the Indian Premier League (IPL).[4][5] Puneri Paltan are the current champions of PKL.[6]

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 IPL. The Pro Kabaddi League uses a franchise-based model and its first season was held in 2014 with eight teams each of which has paid fees of up to US$250,000 to join.[7][8]

There were doubts over whether the Pro Kabaddi League would be successful, noting that many leagues were attempting to emulate the IPL's business model and success and that, unlike cricket, there were relatively fewer well-known players in Kabaddi. However, it was also noted that kabaddi was widely played in grassroots community settings, and could thus attract a wide variety of rural and metropolitan viewers for advertisers to target if the league gained significant attraction.[7]

The inaugural season was seen by 43.5 crores (435 million) viewers, second to the 2014 Indian Premier League's 55.2 crores (552 million), while the first season final between Jaipur Pink Panthers and U-Mumba was watched by 8.64 crores (86.4 million).[9][10] Star Sports, the Pro Kabaddi League's broadcaster,[11] subsequently announced in 2015 that it would acquire a 74% stake in the league's parent company Mashal Sports.[12]

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".[13] Soon the league returned to its regular double round-robin format from the 2019 season.

Since its inception there have been seven different champions. Patna Pirates has won the competition a record three times, in three consecutive seasons. They are also the only team to win back to back titles. Jaipur Pink Panthers has won twice, while U Mumba, Bengaluru Bulls, Bengal Warriors, Dabang Delhi K.C and Puneri Paltan have one title each.

Puneri Paltan are the current champions, having won the 2023-24 season for the first time, by defeating Haryana Steelers in the final.

The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is a professional kabaddi league in India where franchise-based teams compete against each other. The league follows a round-robin format, where each team plays against every other team twice during the league phase.

At the end of the league phase, the top teams qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs consist of eliminators and finals where teams compete to reach the ultimate final match. The team that wins the final match is crowned the champion of the Pro Kabaddi League.

The league also has various individual awards like the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Raider, and Best Defender, among others, to recognize outstanding performances of players during the season.

The league won the Best Sports League’ at the Confederation of Indian Industry Sports Business Awards in October 2024 at New Delhi, India.[14]

  1. ^ "Stats". prokabaddi. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  2. ^ "vivo Pro Kabaddi League 2021 | Schedule, Live Scores, News, Team, Player list and more". vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 | Schedule, Live Scores, News, Team, Player list and more. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Kabaddi gets the IPL treatment". BBC News. 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  4. ^ Sudevan, Praveen (27 October 2022). "How Pro Kabaddi made kabaddi the most-watched sport in India after cricket". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  5. ^ Vijaykumar, Ajit (12 January 2023). "How kabaddi became franchise gold in India". The National. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  6. ^ Chakraborty, Saikat (1 March 2024). "Puneri Paltan crowned PKL Season 10 champion; beats Haryana Steelers in low-scoring final". Sportstar. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Kabaddi gets the IPL treatment". BBC News. 6 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Kabaddi deserves a league of its own: Anand Mahindra". The Economic Times. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Pro Kabaddi league viewership second only to IPL". The Hindu. 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Simple, visceral, fun: why the ancient sport of kabaddi is enjoying a resurgence". The Guardian. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Pro Kabaddi league fixes players' auction on May 20". The Times of India. 17 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  12. ^ "Star India Buys 74% Stake In Pro Kabaddi Owner Mashal Sports". Sports Business Daily. 28 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2017: Full schedule, format, new teams and all you need to know about Season 5". Firstpost. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  14. ^ shivampatel1 (29 October 2024). "Pro Kabaddi League Wins 'Best Sports League' at CII Awards". adda247. Retrieved 5 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)