Sindhu, Tai top buys
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 26
Delhi Dashers and Ahmedabad Smash Masters will not be part of the fifth edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL). Ahmedabad’s team defaulted on its payment and so the contract with the league rights owners was terminated. The Delhi team opted out of the league as it felt it was not viable.
Atul Pande, CEO and founder of Sportzlive, PBL’s organisers, said that it was better this way. “The Delhi team decided to opt out as it was not in its interests. The Ahmedabad team is not here because it defaulted on the payments and so we had to terminate its contracts,” Pande told The Tribune.
The drop-outs have reduced the number of teams to seven for the coming edition. “We were not able to replace them and we felt better in this climate to run with the people who are committed to the sport rather than look at investors unless they are really committed,” he added.
Negotiations to get them back or replace the teams were on till Monday night. While Ahmedabad finished seventh with 13 points, Delhi finished last with 6 points in the last season.
The drop-outs have also forced the organisers to rethink on the scheduling of the matches. Less teams would mean less matches spread over 21 days that will be played across four cities —Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Chennai. “The drop-outs make it easier. Now the league will have fewer double-headers in its 21-day schedule,” Pande said.
Sindhu, Tai go for Rs 77 lakh
The development comes on a day when the players’ auction was held for Season 5. Reigning world champion PV Sindhu and world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying fetched top dollar at the auction.
Hyderabad Hunters retained Sindhu for a fee of Rs 77 lakh, while the Chinese Taipei star was bought by defending champions Bengaluru Raptors after a bidding war with Pune 7 Aces.
Young doubles star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who won the Thailand Open in August alongside Chirag Shetty, was another of the most ssought-after stars as as he was bought by Chennai Superstarz, formerly Chennai Smashers, for an eye-catching Rs 62 lakh.
“I am really happy to be a part of the Chennai team. I have many friends in Chennai and I am looking forward to play there,” Rankireddy said. “Every time we have played here the crowd has been exceptional and to represent them this season will surely be something that I am looking forward to.”
Rankireddy’s partner Shetty has been retained by Pune 7 Aces for Rs 15.5 lakh.
Parupalli Kashyap, who has hit some form this year, was bought by Mumbai Rockets for a fee of Rs 43 lakh. Another promising talent, Lakshya Sen, who won four titles during his two-month stay in Europe, caught the fancy of the teams. He was bought by the Chennai team for Rs 36 lakh.
South Korea’s doubles ace Ko Sung Hyun and Hong Kong’s world No. 24 singles player Lee Cheuk Yiu saw teams fighting for their signatures. Ko was bought by Awadhe Warriors for Rs 55 lakh, while Lee was purchased by North Eastern Warriors for Rs 50 lakh.
PBL season 5
Squads
MUMBAI ROCKETS
Pia Zebadiah, Kim Sa Rang, Parupalli Kashyap, Lee Dong Keun, Pranav Jerry Chopra, Jessica Pugh, Shreyansh Jaiswal, Shlok Ramachandran, Shriyanshi Pardeshi,
Kim Ji Yung
CHENNAI SUPERSTARZ
Kirsty Gilmour, Manu Attri, Gabrielle Adcock, Sanjana Santosh, Gayatri Gopichand, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Tommy Sugiarto, Sankar Muthusamy, Lakshya Sen, K Sathish Kumar, B Sumeeth Reddy
NORTH EASTERN WARRIORS
Michelle Li, Lee Yong Dae, Kim Ha Na, Ashmita Chaliha, Rutuparna Panda, Lee Cheuk Yiu, Kaushal Dharmamer, Bodin Isara, Krishna Garaga, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk
AWADHE WARRIORS
Ko Sung Hun, Shin Baek Cheol, Christinna Pedersen, Subankar Dey, Ajay Jayaram, Ivan Sozonov, Tanvi Lad, Wong Wing Ki Vincent, Beiwen Zhang
PUNE 7 ACES
Thi Trang Vu, Hendra Setiawan, Tse Ting Suet, Chris Adcock, Kuhoo Garg, Mithun Manjunath, Kazumasa Sakai, Rituparna Das, Loh Kean Yew, MR Arjun, Chirag Shetty
HYDERABAD HUNTERS
Vladimir Ivanov, Sourabh Verma, Daren Liew, Kiran George, Ruthvika Shivani Gade, Siki Reddy, Sean Vendy,Ben Lane, N Sikki Reddy, PV Sindhu
BENGALURU RAPTORS
Eom Hye Won, Tai Tzu Ying, Brice Leverdez, Tak Ching Chang, Arun George, Chan Peng Soon, Ansal Yadav, Medha Shashidharan, B Sai Praneeth
TOP BUYS
Rs 77 lakh: PV Sindhu (Hyderabad Hunters), Tai Tzu Ying (Bengaluru Raptors)
Rs 62 lakh: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Chennai Superstarz)
Rs 55 lakh: Ko Sung Hun (Awadhe Warriors)
Rs 50 lakh: Lee Cheuk Yiu (North Eastern Warriors)
74 Indian shuttlers in action during the fifth season of PBL from January 20 to February 9
7 Teams will compete in the 21-day event to be played in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Lucknow
2 Crore, each team’s purse to buy players, but they cannot spend more than Rs 77 lakh for a player. 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
5 The format of the league remains the same with each tie consisting five matches — two men’s singles, one women’s singles, one men’s doubles and one mixed doubles
77 Lakh rupees spent on PV Sindhu and Tai Tzu Ying. Sindhu was retained by Hyderabad Hunters, while world No. 1 Tai of Chinese Taipei was bought by defending champions Bengaluru Raptors after a bidding war with Pune 7 Aces
