Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 will start on October 18, PKL organisers Marshal Sports announced on Tuesday, September 3.
The Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 will return to the three-city caravan format after it was staged in a 12-city caravan format for its milestone season.
The 11th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League will begin at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on October 18. The second leg of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 will be held at the Noida Indoor Stadium from November 10 while the third leg of the tournament will take place at the Balewadi Badminton Stadium in Pune from December 3.
The Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 dates and venues for the playoffs will be announced by the organisers towards the end of the league stage matches.
“We are delighted to announce the start date and venues for PKL Season 11. After successfully completing 10 seasons, PKL Season 11 will mark a new milestone in the continued rise of the league. This would strengthen the growth of Kabaddi in India and elsewhere around the world,” Pro Kabaddi League Commissioner Anupam Goswami said on the announcement of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 start date.
Bengal Warriors, Bengaluru Bulls, Dabang Delhi K.C, Gujarat Giants, Haryana Steelers, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, Telugu Titans, U Mumba and U.P. Yoddhas are the teams that will battle for the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 title.
As per the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 format, each team will play the other side twice in a double round-robin format. The top six teams after all league matches will qualify for the playoffs.
The top two teams in the standings will advance automatically to the PKL Season 11 semi-finals. The remaining four teams will lock horns in the eliminators.
The third-placed team will face the sixth-placed side, while the fourth-placed outfit will square off against the fifth-placed team in the eliminators for a place in the semi-finals.
A total of 137 matches will be staged across three months in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 11.
Meanwhile, the PKL franchises have already completed building their squads after the conclusion of the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 Player Auction held in Mumbai on August 15-16.
Sachin was the most expensive player in the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 Player Auction after Tamil Thalaivas bought the star raider for INR 2.15 crore.
Star Iranian all-rounder Mohammadreza Chiyaneh was sold to last season’s finalist Haryana Steelers for an amount of INR 2.07 crore.
Sunil Kumar became the most expensive Indian defender in PKL history after U Mumba bought him for INR 1.015 crore.
The likes of Guman Singh (1.97 crore), Pawan Sehrawat (INR 1.725 crore), Bharat (INR 1.30 crore) and Maninder Singh (INR 1.15 crore) were the other costliest purchases in the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 Player Auction.
Puneri Paltan will head into the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 as defending champions. They defeated Haryana Steelers 28-25 in the 2023-24 final to clinch their maiden PKL title.
Patna Pirates are the most successful team in PKL history, having won the title on three occasions. Jaipur Pink Panthers feature second on the list with two titles.
Apart from Puneri Paltan, the likes of U Mumbai, Bengaluru Bulls, Bengal Warriors and Dabang Delhi K.C. have clinched the PKL title once each.
Photo credit: Imago
