MUMBAI: The players auction for the next edition of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League (PBL), being organised by Sportzlive under the aegis of Badminton Association of India (BAI), will be held on October 9 in Hyderabad.
PBL's fourth edition, which will run from December 22 to January 14, 2018, offers a prize purse of Rs30 million to the winning franchise, a senior BAI official told The Hindu.
“Originally, it was scheduled in Delhi but has been shifted to Hyderabad now. The franchisee owners will be briefed about the whole process the previous day as we expect about 200 players, including some big names from China, to feature in the bid by eight teams, with the two new entrants being Ahmedabad Smash Masters and the Guwahati Eastern Warriors,” the official told the daily.
“The total auction purse is Rs2.12 crore (Rs21.2 million) with a cap of Rs70 lakh (Rs7 million). The teams should not have more than six foreign players and must have three women players in the squad of 10 members,” he said. “The whole objective is to ensure all teams are well-balanced and ensure great fare for the fans,” he added.
The official added that while the winning franchise stands to come away Rs30 million richer, the runner-up will get Rs15 million and the losing semifinalists Rs7.5 million each in the championship for which the title sponsor is Vodafone. Yonex will provide the kit.
The matches will be played on 15-point format and the ‘Trump’ match, will continue to be one of the star attractions.
Chennai will host two league matches, the two semifinals and the final while the other cities which will be hosting the league matches are Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
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