The third edition of the Premier Badminton League is about to kick off with the auction taking place tomorrow. Having earned some credibility for itself in the first two seasons, the PBL this year will be rich in foreign recruits and would be hoping to make this edition the best one so far.
A total of 133 players are up for grabs in the auction. Two more franchises have been added this year, taking the total number of teams to 8 this year.
While the auction takes place tomorrow, the tournament will begin from the 22nd of December and will conclude on the 14th of January.
Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chennai and Guwahati will be the cities hosting the event.
Each franchise will receive a purse of Rs 2.12 crore and only Rs 72 lakh of that can be spent on a single player. The 6 existing franchises will have the option of using the ‘Right to Match’ card in order to secure the services of the player that they had in their side the last time round.
“We are glad to be back with the third season and promise our fans and the players that we will leave no stone unturned to make it bigger and better with each passing year and deliver a world class League.” said the BAI President Himanta Biswa Sharma
PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will be the top Indian draws of the event.
In the foreign recruits, Carolina Marin, Viktor Axelsen and Tai Tzu Ying should be the top picks.
10 Olympic medallists and 8 winners from the recently concluded World Badminton Championships will be part of the third edition of the PBL. Also, players from 11 different nationalities will be coming together for this mega event.
Franchises:
Delhi Acers
Mumbai Rockets
Bengaluru Blasters
Chennai Smashers
Hyderabad Hunters
North Eastern Warriros
Ahmedabad Smash Masters
Awadhe Warriors
