Pro Kabaddi to be bi-annual league from next year

Mumbai: Hyderabad will host the first leg of season 3 of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League from January 30 next year, with the home team Telugu Titans taking on title holders U Mumba to kick-start the tournament at the Titans' home turf, Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. After the end of the two-part league stage, separated by one day's break, the play-off games would be held in New Delhi between March 4 and 6, according to a media release from the organisers yesterday.

PKL, organised by Mashal Sports and Star India, in association with the International Kabaddi Federation, Asian Kabaddi Federation and the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, is now going to be a bi-annual league with two seasons every year, the release said. Season 3 is being held just five months after completion of the second season and would feature 60 games across 34 days in eight cities and following the same 'caravan style' format like in the first two seasons.

The League would be held at each franchise city for a duration of four days, where the home team would play four of the visiting franchises and all seven visiting franchises would play a set of away games in each city. After the opening leg in Hyderabad, the caravan would move to the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru, to be followed by Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.

This season, the badminton arena in the Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune would be the venue for the culmination to the first half of the league. The indoor stadium at the Patliputra Sports Complex, Patna is the venue of the second half of the league with the caravan then moving to Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on February 20.

Moving on from Jaipur, the league will be played in at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in New Delhi and move to the home of the reigning champions at the National Sports Club of India, here. The play-offs would be held in the national capital for the semi-finals (March 4), 3-4 play-off game and the final (March 5/6), the release stated.