Super Kabaddi League (SKL) is a professional-level kabaddi league in Pakistan. Its inaugural season was played from May 1 to 10, 2018 in Lahore. This league follows a city-based franchise model.[3] More than a 100 Kabaddi players from Pakistan and abroad were presented in the players' draft, which took place on 23 April 2018 in Lahore. International players from Sri Lanka, Iran, Bangladesh and Malaysia participated in the inaugural edition.[4]
Drafting of the inaugural season took place on 23 April 2018, with each of the ten franchises given an opportunity to pick a roster of 10 players, which included 2 Platinum, 7 Gold and 1 Foreign player pick.[5]
This was the first time that a sports related event of such a scale had been organised in the country.[7][8][9][10]
The event was open for all to attend. It was attended by people from all walks of life as well team owners, officials of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation and many others. The ceremony included several performances, which included Bakhshi Brothers, who also sang one of the songs for Season 1.
SKL was broadcast live on television. The broadcast partner was PTV Sports. In addition to the live telecast, the matches were shown on repeat the following day as well.[11]
Gujrat Warriors won the inaugural Super Kabaddi League after defeating Faisalabad Sherdils in the final game by 38-26. Gujrat Warriors' Tehseen Ullah was declared the Man of the Final.[12] Faisalabad's captain Nasir Ali was declared the Player of the League. The winning team received a Rs. 1 million cash prize while the runners-up were given Rs. 500,000.[13]
Pakistan
