Next up on the Indian sporting canvas: Pro Wrestling League

The PWL will comprise six franchises with 10 wrestlers in each, including a marquee player, and is being billed as the world’s richest Olympic style wrestling league. Each franchise can have a maximum of four overseas wrestlers and must also include four women wrestlers.

More than 20 medal winners from the recent World championship at Las Vegas, current European, Asian and CWG champions and other international medal winners are among the wrestlers who have expressed interest to be part of the PWL.

The franchises will have a purse of Rs. 2 crore, with the bid for marquee player starting at a base price of USD $50,000. The PWL is a joint venture of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and Pro Sportify Pvt. Ltd.

“It will be a great boost when the cream of world wrestling comes to India. This will be a great opportunity for our players to travel with them and learn a lot,” said India’s two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, expressing confidence of the league promoting the sport in the country.

Organisers confirmed that yesteryear Bollywood star Dharmendra and GMR Group were among the PWL franchises, while the identity of the other owners are yet to be revealed.

 “The PWL players’ auction will be a landmark in the history of the sport, giving the franchises an opportunity to bid for the world’s best players,” said WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.