New Delhi: The PKL Melbourne Raid is an innovative form of action brought by the organisers of the Pro Kabbadi League (PKL), a prominent franchise-based tournament played in India in what is their indigenous sport. This is a big move from Mashal Sports, the organizing company of the PKL, to expand the sport to the international shores.
This will be an exhibition event comprising former kabaddi players and some prominent players from the current arena. A total of four teams will be part of the PKL Melbourne Raid with PKL All Star Mavericks, PKL All Star Masters and Pro Kabaddi All Stars are the teams from India. There will be a team from the Australian contingent which is called the Aussie Raiders. It will be interesting to see how Australian players approach to the contact-team sport and turn up against the mighty Indians.
Legendary Indian kabaddi players such as Anup Kumar, Rahul Chaudhari and Rakesh Kumar will be seen in action, bringing the old and blissful memories for fans of how they outsmarted the opponents in the formative years of the PKL. Even the likes of Pardeep Narwal (Bengaluru Bulls), Maninder Singh (Bengal Warriorz) and Sachin Tanwar (Tamil Thalaivas).
The exhibition match will be played a day before the PKL final, which is scheduled on Sunday (December 27) in Pune. Below are the complete squads of all four teams for the PKL Melbourne Raid.
PKL Melbourne Raid squads
PKL All Star Mavericks
Ajay Thakur (Raider/Captain), Deepak Hooda (Raider), Aadesh (Raider), Rakesh (Raider), Pardeep Narwal (Raider), Nitin Rawal (Left Corner + Raider), Aditya Powar (Left Corner), Nitesh Kumar (Right Corner), Mayur Kadam (Right Cover), Priyank Chandel (Left Cover), Nitin (Left Corner), Sachin (Raider)
Coach: E. Bhaskaran
PKL All Star Masters
Rakesh Kumar (Raider/Captain), Anup Kumar (Raider), Sukesh Hegde (Raider), Jai Bhagwan (Raider), Maninder Singh (Raider), Jeeva Kumar (Left Cover), Sandeep Narwal (Right Cover), Vishal Bhardwaj (Left Corner), Saurabh Nandal (Right Corner), Mohit (Right Cover), Ran Singh (Right/Left Corner), Nitesh (Left Corner).
Coach: B.C. Ramesh
Pro Kabaddi All Stars
Anup Kumar (Raider/Captain), Rakesh Kumar (Raider), Sukesh Hegde (Raider), Jai Bhagwan (Raider), Maninder Singh (Raider), Jeeva Kumar (Left Cover), Sandeep Narwal (Right Cover), Vishal Bhardwaj (Left Corner), Saurabh Nandal (Right Corner), Mohit (Right Cover), Nitesh (Left Corner).
Coach: E. Bhaskaran
Aussie Raiders
Josh Kennedy (Left In/Raider/Captain), Marc Murphy (Corner/Raider), Dan Hannebery (Left Corner), Brett Deledio (Raider), Ben Nugent (Centre/Raider), Billy Gowers (Left Corner/Raider), Michael Hibberd (Left Corner), Trent McKenzie (Right In), Dyson Heppell (Raider/Left Corner), Liam Shiels (Right Corner/Raider).
Coach: Campbell Brown
PKL Melbourne Raid schedule
December 28, 2024
PKL ALL STAR MAVERICKS VS PKL ALL STAR MASTERS – 2:30 PM (IST)
AUSSIE RAIDERS VS PRO KABADDI ALL STARS – 2:30 PM (IST)
Where will the PKL Melbourne Raid will be held?
The PKL Melbourne Raid will be held at the John Cain Arena in Melbourne on Saturday (December 28).
PKL Melbourne Raid Live Streaming Details
PKL Melbourne Raid will be telecasted on the Star Sports Network and live streamed on the Hotstar mobile application and its website. For the viewers in Australia, Channel 7 will also telecast the competition of the PKL Melbourne Raid down under.
The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is expanding internationally with the PKL Melbourne Raid, featuring Indian and Australian kabaddi teams. Legendary Indian players like Anup Kumar and Rahul Chaudhari will be part of the league. The event takes place on December 28th, 2024, showcasing the growing global appeal of kabaddi. Kabaddi Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
