PBL Auction 2018: Sindhu, Saina, Srikanth Bought For 80 Lakh
Live updates from the Premier Badminton League Auction 2018
advertisement
- PV Sindhu has joined defending champions Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 80 Lakh.
- After going unsold in the first round, Saina Nehwal was bought by North Eastern Warriors for Rs 80 lakh
- A total of 145 players from 23 countries have gone under the hammer today.
- The PBL will be held from December 22 to January 13.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Premier Badminton League Auction 2018: Rules & Format
Top shuttlers including Olympic medallists PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, world champion Carolina Marin and former world no 1 Victor Axelsen will headline the players' auction in the fourth edition of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League in New Delhi on Monday.
This year the league expands to nine teams with the addition of Pune Franchise. A total of 145 players listed from 23 countries will go under the hammer.
The other players granted the iconic status include Axelsen, Marin, Nehwal, Sindhu, Srikanth, Yong Dae, Sung Ji Hyun and Son Wan Ho.
All players will be returning to the auction pool for the first time since 2015 with no Right To Match (RTM) cards for any teams.
The PBL will be held from December 22 to January 13.
There has been a sizeable increase in the number of Indian players listed for the auction -- 67 of them are in fray -- including Asian Junior Champion Lakshya Sen.
According to the rules of the auction, the teams can spend a maximum of Rs 80 lakh on one player. In case of a deadlock, the player will be assigned to a team through a draw of lots.
The 23-day event will witness nine teams slug it out for a prize purse of Rs 6 crore in five cities with the inaugural rounds being held in Mumbai. Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru will be the other host cities.
Carolina Marin Goes to Pune
Former World Champion is bought by Pune 7 Aces for a base price of Rs 70 Lakh. Pune 7 Aces is the newest team of the Premier Badminton League who are going to make their debut this season.
Victor Axelsen Bought by Ahmedabad
Former World No 1 Victor Axelsen goes to Ahmedabad Smash Masters for Rs 80 Lakhs.
Saina Nehwal to Play for North-East
After being unsold the first time round, Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal has been bagged by Northeastern Warriors for Rs 90 Lakh.
Prannoy Sold to Delhi Dashers
HS Prannoy picked up by Delhi Dashers for Rs 80 lakh. The Delhi outfit got into a bidding war with Mumbai Rockets but eventually were successful in picking up the desired player.
Sung Ji Hyun Joins Chennai
Another top name bought for Rs 80 Lakh. World number 9 Sung Ji Hyun has been picked up by Chennai Smashers.
Hyderabad Bag PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu has been bought by defending champions Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 80 Lakh.
Ashwini Ponnappa Bagged by Awadhe Warriors
India’s double star Ashwini Ponnappa to play for Awadhe Warriors for Rs 32 Lakh. The Chennai and the Pune outfits were also battling out for her. Ponnappa had a base prise of Rs 15 Lakh.
Sikki Joins Ahmedabad
Ahmebadad Smash Masters have added Indian doubles speciallist N. Sikki Reddy to their roster for Rs 29 lakh.
Sikki won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the women’s doubles event with Ashwini Ponnappa.
She also received an Arjuna Award this year.
Doubles Players Find New Teams
- Big payday for Korean doubles shuttler Lee Yong Dae who has been bought by Mumbai Rockets for Rs 80 lakh
- Mathias Christiansen has joined Awadhe Warriors for Rs 37 lakh
- Delhi Dashers buy Chai Biao for 42 lakh
- Gabby Adcock joins Chennai Smashers for Rs 36 lakh
- Eom Hye Won from Korea sold to Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 37 lakh
Chris Adcock Joins Chennai Smashers
World championship silver and bronze medallist Chris Adcock attracted a heavy bidding war but has been ultimately picked up by Chennai for Rs 54 lakh.
Kidambi Srikanth to Play For Bengaluru Raptors
India’s ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was bagged by the Bengaluru outfit for Rs 80 lakh.
The World No 6 was a finalist at the Gold Coast Commonwealth this year. He also achieved world number 1 ranking for a week in 2018.
Icon Players List
- Viktor Axelsen of Denmark picked by Ahmedabad Smash Masters for Rs 80 lakh.
- India’s Kidambi Srikanth joins Bengaluru Raptor for Rs 80 lakh.
- Son Wan Ho from Korea to play for Awadhe Warriors, who picked him up for Rs 70 lakh.
- HS Prannoy of India bought by Delhi Dashers for Rs 80 lakh.
- PV Sindhu to play for her Hyderabad Hunters after she was picked for Rs 80 lakh.
- Spaniard Carolina Marin bought by Pune 7 Aces for Rs 80 lakh.
- Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun went for Rs 80 lakh and will be seen representing Chennai Smashers.
- Saina Nehwal was bought by North Eastern Warriors for Rs 80 lakh.
- Lee Yong Dae from Korea joins Mumbai Rockets for Rs 80 lakh.
Taapsee Pannu at PBL 4 Auction
Taapsee Pannu, co-owner of Pune 7 Aces, was present at the Premier Badminton League Auction 2018 in New Delhi.
Pune 7 Aces, which is going to make its debut this season, roped in Spain’s Carolina Marin as the icon player.
Saina Nehwal: North Eastern Warrior's Icon Player
Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal was picked by North Eastern Warriors for Rs 80 lakh . Saina, who represented Awadhe Warriors, in the earlier editions, will be the icon player for the North East franchisee.
“PBL Season 4 is coming up. I ma really happy to know that I am with the North Eastern Warriors. So, really looking forward to play,” said Saina in a video she released on Twitter on Monday.
Remaining Purse Amount
Sai Praneeth Goes to Raptors
Starting at a base price of Rs 20 lakh, Sai Praneeth sold to Bengaluru Raptors for Rs 32 lakh.
Kim Sa Rang Joins Hyderbad Hunters
South Korea’s Kim Sa Rang pocketed by Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 45 lakh.
Lakshya Sen Bought by Pune
Teenage sensation Lakshya Sen quickly lapped up by new outfit Pune 7 Aces for Rs 11 lakh.
Hyderabad were involved in a bidding war with Pune for Lakshya, who made headlines few months back after he won the 2018 Asian Junior Championships defeating the top seeded World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final.
Lakshya had a base price of Rs 5 lakh.
P Kashyap Goes to Chennai Smashers
Parupalli Kashyap was picked up by the Chennai franchisee at his base price of Rs 5 lakh.
Kashyap played for the Awadhe Warriors in the previous edition.
In 2018, he won the Australian Open.
Remaining Purse Amount
Manu Attri Goes to Mumbai Rockets
The Mumbai Rockets bag doubles player Manu Attri for Rs 18 lakh. Mumbai and Chennai got into a fierce bidding war for the 25-year-old, but eventually Mumbai pulled through.
Sameer Verma Goes to Mumbai Rockets
The Mumbai Rockets snap Sameer Verma for Rs 42 lakh. The 23-year-old, who practices at the Gopichand Badminton Academy, Hyderabad is the third best player in the national competitions.
Lee Hyun Il Goes to Hyderabad Hunters
The Hyderabad Hunters take the South Korean Lee Hyun Il at his base price of Rs 60 lakh.
Ajay Jayaram Goes to Pune 7 Aces
The Pune 7 Aces bag at his base price for Rs 10 lakh. The Mumbai player has an Asia Team Championships bronze under his belt.
Rahul Yadav Chittaboina Goes to Hyderabad Hunters
Rahul Yadav Chittaboina becomes the final player to be sold in the PBL auction. The 20-year-old is sold to Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 3 lakh.