With the Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 (PKL 11) set to begin very soon, talks have begun about the annual auction date ahead of the start of the competition
Notably, the organizers are set on bringing the new season of the Pro Kabaddi League back to its original July-September window.
Pro Kabaddi League 2024-2025 (PKL 11) auction date and schedule starting date details
Breaking records ๐ฅ reaching milestones โจ repeat ๐ ๐
Vote for your favourite record by a raider from #PKLSeason10 ๐ https://t.co/4oGMQOwCih ๐#ProKabaddiLeague #ProKabaddi #PKL #PKL10 #NaveenKumar #ManinderSingh #PawanSehrawat #PardeepNarwal pic.twitter.com/NDHZdeyPsC
— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) April 1, 2024
Ahead of the new season, some teams have already started preparations with the appointment of new coaches.
Krishna Kumar Hooda has taken over Telugu Titans as their new head coach, while Joginder Narwal has been promoted to Head Coach of Dabang Delhi.
Pro Kabaddi League Season PKL Season 11 auction
This year again, the competitionโs host broadcaster, Star Sports, will work on conducting the auction along with the PKL organizers. Notably, the broadcaster has played a key role in hosting the PKL ever since its first edition. And heading into the new season, they have expressed their desire to hold the auctions by the end of May.
Star Sports is currently hosting the IPL and will also host the ICC T20 World Cup. As such, with the 2024 IPL final set for May 26, and the ICC T20 World Cup set to begin on June 2, the last week of May seems to be the ideal time to hold the auctions. With the competition set to begin around July 2024, holding the auctions in the last week of May will also give plenty of time for teams to regroup with their new squads and prepare for the new season.
While the official schedule hasn’t been revealed yet, it is likely that the Mashal Sports would bring back the old schedule ahead of the PKL 11, and the league could be played between July and September.
PKL Season 11 previous auctions
The PKL auction serves as a significant event for the competition as it sets the stage for the entire season. Notably, raiders often emerge as the highest-paid players in the past few auctions. Pawan Sehrawat emerged as the highest-bid player in both season 9 (2.26 cr) and season 10 (2.605 cr). All other highest-paid players from Nitin Tomar (season 5), Monu Goyat (season 6), Siddharth Desai (season 7), and Pardeep Narwal (season 8) were raiders. Moreover, player prices have gone up even higher with each new season, and the upcoming auction will certainly bring about even more action and hype around the players.
ALSO READ: Naismith Trophy 2024 how to vote, nominees list and awards date