pro kabaddi
Players in action during a Pro Kabaddi League match.Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS

The 2019 season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will start from July 20 with Telugu Titans and U Mumba playing the opening match of the tournament. Last year's champions Bengaluru Bulls will fight it out against three-time champions Patna Pirates in the second match of the first day, according to organisers. The Titans vs U Mumba match will be played at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad.

Preview and Schedule

This year a total of 12 teams will be fighting it out to win the coveted trophy. Each team will face every other side twice and finally, the teams which are in the top six list of the table will qualify for the playoffs. The organisers announced that this year, while Telugu Titans will play at their base Hyderabad, both Bengaluru Bulls and Jaipur Pink Panthers will be playing at Bengaluru and Jaipur respectively.

New coaches will be in fray this time around as Anup Kumar coaches the Puneri Paltans for the seventh season while Rakesh Kumar will be coaching Haryana Steelers. Siddharth Desai who has shifted to Telugu Titans this year will be looking to perform the way he used to do for U Mumba. The final of the tournament is scheduled for October 19.

This time around the former champions Bengaluru Bulls are definitely the favourite to win the tournament. But last two year's runners-up Gujarat Fortune Giants (GFG), who were defeated by Patna Pirates in 2017 and Bengaluru Bulls in 2018, will be strong contenders also. Three-time champions Patna Pirates who underperformed last season will also be among the contenders to lift the coveted trophy.

TV listings and Live Streaming

The broadcasting rights of the tournament are held by Star Sports and the matches will be telecasted every day from 7.30 pm as they are scheduled. For live streaming on the internet, the platform will be Hotstar.