Come Jan, state will have a Kerala Volley League
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While the Indian Volley League (IVL) has had a smashing entry into national sports, Kerala is toying with the idea of launching its own version of the professional league starting January next year.
The Kerala Volley League (KVL), which was proposed two years ago, much before the IVL idea took shape, will involve five teams and as many venues.
“KVL was the dream project of the state volleyball association and two years ago it almost kicked off, but one of the sponsors pulled out at the last moment. Anyway it was our idea that developed into the IVL,” said Prof. Nalakath Basheer, secretary of the state association.
Initially the KVL had six teams, representing the districts of Kozhikode, Kannur, Malappuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta. The first match was fixed for February 1, 2010 at the V.K. Krishna Menon Indoor Stadium, Kozhikode, but it never happened.
But, this time around, the association is planning to rope in only five sponsors and as a result one of the district teams will have to give way.
“The final decision will be taken at a general body meeting to be convened at Perinthalmanna on June 19. As of now the idea is to begin KVL in January, after the state and national championships,” said Basheer.
The timing of the KVL is planned to ensure the availability of Malayali players in the IVL. The matches will begin at 7 pm under floodlights and as decided earlier, the first match will be played at Kozhikode, he added.
The players will be divided into three classes, Grade A (IVL), Grade B and Grade C. The association, which will be organising the league, is also planning to telecast the matches live.
Match sheet of Kerala Killers
The Kerala Killers failed to impress in the first leg of the IVL and the team members blame their lacklustre performance on the excess of tournaments they played in the season.
“The boys had a hectic season, playing dozens of state and national level tournaments, coming into the IVL. Adding to that when you begin a tournament with a loss it really affects your team’s morale,” said head coach K. Abdul Nazer.
Moreover, the team is not experienced enough for major leagues, involving senior players. “Only K.P. Shaheem and M. Naveen Raja Jacob have played at the national level, the others lack that kind of an exposure,” added Nazer.
“But, we have learned a lot from the five matches in the first leg. Now, we are jelling up well and hopefully from the Chennai leg, the team will perform as a unit, irrespective of the lack of senior players,” said Shaheem.
The second leg at Chennai will be played from June 4 to 8, the third leg in the home ground of Yanam Tigers (Andhra Pradesh) begins on June 12 and the final stage at Hyderabad will be between June 20 and 24.
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