The seventh edition of Pro Kabaddi League or PKL 2019 is all set to entertain fans. The twelve teams of PKL 2019 will again play against each other in energetic battles which will take place from July to October, 2019. The twelve teams participating in VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 2019 will face each other in twelve different legs, facing each other on home and away venues once. Hence, each team will be playing a total of 22 matches in PKL 2019 before the start of playoffs. Kabaddi: World 7 Beat India 7 in All-Star Match Ahead of PKL 2019. 

The Defending champions Bengaluru Bulls will aim for another successful season this year, while Gujarat Fortunegiants will try to better their luck this time after losing two back-to-back finals in last two seasons. As the nail-biting tournament takes a countdown, we answer some important details related to VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 2019. PKL 2019 Full Schedule: Telugu Titans Take on U Mumba in Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 Opener on July 20. 

What is VIVO Pro Kabaddi 2019 Schedule? Date and Match Timings

VIVO Pro Kabaddi 2019 (PKL 2019 or PKL 7) will commence from July 20, 2019 and will end on October 19, 2019, the day when PKL 2019 final will be played. The tournament will be played almost every day, except for some days which are declared as rest days. Either one match or two matches will be played on a given day. The first match will start from 7:30 PM (Indian Standard Time) while the second match will start from 8:30 PM (IST).

What Changes Will be Seen in 7th Edition of VIVO Pro Kabaddi?

Unlike last season, Pro Kabaddi League 2019 will be played in round-robin format this time with each team playing 22 matches against other teams. One team will play one home match and one away match against the other 11 teams. There are no groups in PKL 2019 unlike last season, and the top six teams will qualify for playoffs. Also, there will be no inter-zone, intra-zone matches and wildcard matches have been also discarded from Pro Kabaddi League 2019.

How Many Teams Are Participating in VIVO PKL 2019?

A total of 12 teams are participating in VIVO PKL 2019 namely Bengal Warriors, Bengaluru Bulls, Dabang Delhi, Gujarat Fortunegiants, Haryana Steelers, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, Telugu Titans, U Mumba and UP Yoddha.

When And Where to Watch VIVO PKL 2019 in India?

The TV telecast of Pro Kabaddi League 2019 will available on Star Sports. The English commentary of the match will be available on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2HD. The match will be telecast live along with Hindi commentary on Star Sports 1 Hindi and Star Sports 1HD Hindi and Star Gold. The matches will start from 7:30 PM (IST) and 8:30 PM (IST). The online stream of the matches will be available on Hotstar.com and Hotstar app.

List of Venues Hosting The Matches of PKL 2019?

Each team of VIVO PKL 2019 has a home venue where the matches will be played. These are Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad of Telugu Titans, NSCI SVP Stadium, Mumbai of U Mumba, Patliputra Sports Complex, Patna of Patna Pirates, The Arena By Transstadia, Ahmedabad of Gujrat Fortuneginats, Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai of Tamil Thalaivas, Thyagaraj Sports Complex, Delhi of Dabang Delhi, Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru of Bengaluru Bulls, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium, Kolkata of Bengal Warriors, Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune of Puneri Paltan, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur of Jaipur Pink Panthers, Tau Devilal Sports Complex, Panchkula of Haryana Steelers and Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, Greater Noida of UP Yoddha.

VIVO Pro Kabaddi Auctions Recap - Highest Buys

Among some highest buys during auctions of Pro Kabaddi League 2019 are as follows. Siddharth Desai bagged the highest bid at Rs 1.45 crore and made his way into the Telugu Titans. Nitin Tomar was retained by Puneri Paltan for Rs 1.2 crore. Rahul Chaudhary, who played for Telugu Titans in the sixth edition, was bought by Tamil Thalaivas for Rs 94 lakh.

Defending Champions at VIVO Pro Kabaddi 2019

Bengaluru Bulls are the defending champions at PKL 2019. The team defeated Gujarat Fortunegiants in the finals of PKL 2018 38-33 to clinch the title at SVP Indoor Stadium in Mumbai. It was the second consecutive loss for Gujarat Fortuneginants in the finals. Rohit Kumar was the captain of Bengaluru Bulls in PKL 2018.

With a round-robin format this time, the tussle between the teams will be a lot more exciting than the last time. All the teams will be part of a single group so competition for playoffs is expected to be very close. With the PKL 2019 auctions, the teams have undergone changes and this will also affect their performance in PKL 2019. Patna Pirates, who have won the PKL title three times so far, will also look to make a mark this time.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2019 05:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).