With less than a week remaining for the 12th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 2025) to start, the tournament has announced a number of significant changes. The highly-anticipated season is set to get underway on August 29 in Vizag.
12 teams – Patna Pirates, Jaipur Pink Panthers, U Mumba, Bengaluru Bulls, Bengal Warriorz, Dabang Delhi K.C., Puneri Paltan, Haryana Steelers, UP Yoddhas, Tamil Thalaivas, Telugu Titans and Gujarat Giants – will participate in the competition. Haryana Steelers are the reigning champions and will be keen to become only the second team after Patna Pirates to defend the PKL title.
The tournament will be played across four venues – Vizag, Jaipur, Chennai and Delhi. With not much time left for PKL 2025 to begin, here are the new changes introduced:
PKL 2025 – New rules and format:
Longer league stage:
In order to provide more entertainment to the fans and make the competition more competitive, the organizers have decided to extend the league stage in PKL 2025. As a result, the 12th season of PKL will feature 108 league matches.
Each team is scheduled to play 18 matches in the league phase. The officials have explained that the new format will make the competition even more competitive. The new format will not only test the teams throughout the competition but will also give them an opportunity to showcase their strength. The extended format will also keep the fans engaged for a longer time and would sustain the momentum heading into the playoffs.
League state to have tie-breakers:
PKL 2025 will mark the beginning of Golden Raid shootout in the league matches as well. It is one of the most striking changes introduced ahead of the new season. The tie-breaker was previously used only in the playoffs. However, it will now be used in the league matches as well which means no match will now end in a draw. The officials have said that the rule has been introduced in order to eliminate tied results.
According to the tie-breaker rule, each team nominates five different raiders for a five-raid shootout. During the shootout, regular out and revival rules are illegitimate and only points scored matter.
Fans to get simplified points table:
The PKL organizers have also decided to make the points table simplified for the sake of the fans. Under the new points system, teams will earn two points for a win and nothing for a loss. The organizers have decided to remove the additional bonus or defensive incentives from the points table in order to have better clarity and transparency.
Play-ins and revamped playoffs:
For the first time in the history of PKL, eight teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the knockout stages. During PKL 2025, teams finishing between 5th and 8th position will take part in Play-ins and the winners will progress to the Eliminators.
The teams finishing at the 3rd and 4th spot will play a mini-Qualifier while the top two teams will fight it out in Qualifier 1. The winner of Qualifier 1 will advance to the final while the loser will get another chance through Qualifier 2.
Conclusion:
PKL has already been a huge hit among the fans. PKL is the second-most watched sports league in India after the Indian Premier League. The organizers have now shown their ambition by introducing a number of changes in order to make the competition even more competitive and entertaining. PKL 2025 promises to be an exciting edition.