NEW DELHI: The players auction for the fifth season of the Premier Badminton League here Tuesday saw world champion PV Sindhu and world number 1 women’s singles player Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei fetching the highest prices of Rs 7.7 million each.
Incidentally, while each franchise had a purse of Rs 20 million, Rs 7.7 million was the maximum a team could bid for a player.
While India’s badminton queen was retained by Hyderabad Hunters, defending champions Bengaluru Raptors secured Tai Tzu’s services after a bidding war with the Pune 7 Aces.
Top Indian male player B Sai Praneeth, meanwhile was retained by Bengaluru Raptors for Rs 3.2 million.
Among other Indians who were retained by their respective franchises are men’s doubles players B Sumeeth Reddy (Rs 1.1 million by Chennai Superstarz) and Chirag Shetty (Rs 1.55 million by Pune 7 Aces).
World number 9 American women’s singles player Beiwan Zhang too has been retained by Awadhe Warriors for Rs 3.9 million.
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand’s daughter Gayatri Gopichand was picked up by Chennai Superstarz, while young Assamese shuttler Ashmita Chaliha was bought by her home team North Eastern Warriors for Rs 300,000.
The PBL season 5 lost some sheen after London Olympics Bronze medallist Saina Nehwal pulled out to recuperate after an injury-ravaged season, followed soon after by Kidambi Srikanth, citing a desire to focus on international tournaments ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
154 players, including Sai Praneeth, Lakshya Sen, and men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, were also part of the auction, PTI reports.
The next edition of PBL will see a total of 74 Indian shuttlers in action from January 20 to February 9.
Seven teams – Awadhe Warriors (Lucknow), Bengaluru Raptors (Bengaluru), Mumbai Rockets (Mumbai), Hyderabad Hunters (Hyderabad), Chennai Superstarz (Chennai), North Eastern Warriors (North East) and Pune 7 Aces (Pune) — will compete in the 21-day event to be played in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Lucknow.
The teams will comprise a maximum of six foreign players and a minimum of three female shuttlers in a squad of not more than 11.
The format of the upcoming edition of the league remains the same with each tie consisting of five matches – two men singles, one women singles, one men doubles and one mixed doubles.
PBL5 – At a Glance:
Total number of Teams: 7
Total number of Venues: 4 (Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Chennai)
Total number of players in Auction: 154
Total number of Players sold: 71
Most Expensive Buy – Tai Tzu Ying- Rs 7.7lm (Bengaluru Raptors)
Most Expensive Indian Buy – Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy- Rs 6.2m (Chennai Superstarz)
Expensive Debut – Ashmita Chaliha Rs 300,000 (North Eastern Warriors)
Auction purse for each Team: Rs 20m
Player cap: Rs 7.7m
Minimum Players per Team: 9
Maximum Players per Team: 11
Maximum Number of Foreign Players per Team: 6
Minimum Number of female shuttlers per Team: 3
Total Prize Money: Rs 6m
Broadcaster: Star Sports/Hotstar
Related Report
Saina Nehwal pulls out of PBL; focus is to be ready for Tokyo 2020
