The Pro Kabaddi League 2021 (PKL 2021) is going to be scheduled in June-August windows. Last year due to COVID-19 pandemic, Pro Kabaddi League was cancelled. So this year will be the eighth season of Pro Kabaddi League. Mashal Sports CEO and PKL Commissioner Anupam Goswami says, Pro Kabaddi’s natural window is the monsoon months, and that is when Season 8 is likely to happen.
Here is the start date of Pro Kabaddi League 2021 announced with the Auction date for the Pro Kabaddi League.
In recent interview with the Indian Express news paper Anupam Goswami said, “The natural window for Pro Kabaddi is the monsoon months – broadly June to October. We want to conduct Season 8 in that window,”
Pro Kabaddi League 2021 Player Auctions will likely take place in the month of April 2021. PKL committee will very soon release the date for the player registration in Pro Kabaddi League.
The decision on allowing fans to attend PKL games yet to be taken
Anupam Goswami stated that the organizers are yet to decide whether to allow the fans into the stadiums for the PKL. With a lot of time still left before the tournament begins, he said that a decision would be taken as the government regulations evolve.
Thus Pro Kabaddi League is an indoor game thus PKL can allow 50 percent of fans to watch the match at the stadium. Furthermore, there are chances that the management decides to hold the league behind closed doors to minimize COVID-19 risk.
“We will learn from other situations. We still have four months to go. The nature of government regulations will also evolve, but we will look to be very safe,” Goswami added in the interview.
It will be interesting to see how the organizers will use technology including air-conditioners. Ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems have been described as one of the reasons for the spreading of COVID-19 at indoor stadiums.
The World Health Organisation, however, has given guidelines on how to minimise the spread of coronavirus indoors.
“Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are used to maintain indoor air temperature and humidity at healthy and comfortable levels. A well-maintained and operated system can reduce the spread of COVID-19 in indoor spaces by increasing the rate of air change, reducing air recirculation and increasing the amount of outdoor air coming in. Settings that recirculate the air should not be used. HVAC systems should always be regularly inspected, maintained, and cleaned,” WHO wrote on its official website.
Goswami said that they are ready to abide by the guidelines, regulations that the government have for the pandemic. Players will have to undergo rigorous quarantine and there is a possibility of hard bio-bubble.
“We will abide by every advisory, guideline, a regulation that the union government and state governments have as a COVID-19 safety protocol. We will adopt Covid safety as an ethic also, to show that an indigenous sport can be rigorous in terms of looking at the health of the players and all officials involved. The quarantine and safety measures will have to be very rigorous,” he said.
The PKL started in 2014 with just 8 teams. However, with the growing popularity of the league, 4 more franchises were created. The Bengal Warriors, who won the tournament for the first time in 2019, will enter the upcoming season as the defending champions.
