New Delhi, February 3: Ahead of the upcoming Prime Volleyball League, Kolkata Thunderbolts captain Ashwal Rai spoke about his expectations from the tournament. Kolkata Thunderbolts will kick off their Prime Volleyball League (PVL) campaign starting from Monday next week.

"I think MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, and KL Rahul would make very good volleyball players. Dhoni and Pandya can do passing and Rahul can do attack. There was a video of them playing beach volleyball in Dubai, we would feel good if we get a chance to play volleyball with them," Ashwal told ANI. Also Read | Mumbai City FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan, ISL 2021-22 Live Streaming Online on Disney+ Hotstar: Watch Free Telecast of MCFC vs ATKMB in Indian Super League 8 on TV and Online.

"PV Sindhu met us at the ground and she talked to everyone. She is doing promotion, volleyball can come to the level of cricket if there is good standard and the right kind of promotion is given," he added. Also Read | IPL 2022 Mega Auctions: Ready to Go to Any Team, Says Yuzvendra Chahal.

The Prime Volleyball League will get underway on February 5 and the tournament is scheduled to take place at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium which will see the home team of Hyderabad Black Hawks taking on the mighty Kochi Blue Spikers in the opening fixture. The final of the competition will be played on February 27.

The tournament will consist of a total of 24 matches spread over a course of 23 days. Each of the seven franchises - Calicut Heroes, Kochi Blue Spikers, Ahmedabad Defenders, Hyderabad Black Hawks, Chennai Blitz, Bengaluru Torpedoes, and Kolkata Thunderbolts - will play a single round-robin before the top four teams in the league stage qualify for the semi-finals.

"For all the players, this is the right kind of platform to show their skills and performance. Earlier, I did not follow sports much and then I grew up, I started following cricket and football. There is no particular athlete I look up to, I strive for excellence every time I go out to play," said Ashwal.

Prime Volleyball League 2022 can be watched Live on SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi), SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & SONY TEN 2 (Malayalam) channels from February 5.

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