PBL Auction- As it happened: PV Sindhu, Tai Tzu fetch big bucks, Chennai, Pune build strong teams

Premier Badminton League (PBL) Auction: P.V. Sindhu and Tai Tzu Ying bagged 77 lakhs each, while Chennai and Pune built strong teams. Highlights and full squads.

Players for seven teams will go under the hammer today.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) Season 5 Auction . Relive all the highs, lows , hits and misses from an eventful day at the auction.

 

Well, what an eventful day at the auction.  Thank you so much for joining us through this coverage. Let's hope the season five turns out to be a blockbusters. We leave you with the final squads of each team. Till then, it's goodbye!

 

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- 1.Michelle Li, Lee Yong Dae, Kim Ha Na, Ashmita Chaliha,  Rutuparna Panda, Lee Cheuk Yiu, Kaushal Dharmamer, Bodin Isara, Krishna Garaga, Tanongsak

 

AWADHE WARRIORS- Ko Sung Hun, Shin Baek Cheol, Christinna Pedersen, Subankar Dey, Ajay Jayaram, van Sozonov, Tanvi Lad, Wong Win Ki Vincent, Beiwen Zhang

 

PUNE ACES- Thi Trang Vu, Hendra Setiawan, Tse Ting Suet, Chris Adcock, Kuhoo Garg, Mithun Manjunath, Kazumasa Sakai, Rituparna Das, Loh Kean Yew, M.R. 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, P.V. 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

 

AND THAT'S THAT!

 

Arun George- sold for 1L to Bengaluru Raptors (Base Price- 1L)

Chan Peng Soon- sold for 30L to Bengaluru Raptors (Base Price- 18L)

Ansal Yadav- sold for 1L Bengaluru Raptors (Base Price- 1L)

Medha Shashidharan- sold for 1L to Bengaluru Raptors (Base Price- 1L)

Shreyansh Jaiswal- sold for 1L to Mumbai Rockets (Base Price- 1L)

Shlok Ramachandran - sold for 1L to Mumbai Rockets (Base Price- 1L)

Shriyanshi Pardeshi- - sold for 1.5L to Mumbai Rockets (Base Price- 1.5L)

Tanvi Lad- sold for 1L Awadhe Warriors (Base Price- 1L)

Wong Win Ki Vincent - sold for 20L to Awadhe Warriors  (Base Price- 20L)

Sean Vendy- sold for 5.75L to Hyderabad Hunters (Base Price- 5.75L)

Ben Lane- sold for 6.75L to Hyderabad Hunters (Base Price- 6.75L)

N. Sikki Reddy- sold for 20L to Hyderabad Hunters  (Base Price- 20L)

Suppanyu Avihingsanon - unsold (Base Price- 5L)

Rahul Yadav- unsold (Base Price- 2L)

Brice Leverdez- sold for 21L to Bengaluru Raptors (Base Price- 15L)

Ricky- unsold (Base Price- 11.55L)

Dhruv Kapila - unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Ivan Sozonov- sold for 13L to Awadhe Warriors(Base Price- 10.8L)

Rian Agung Saputro- unsold (Base Price- 10.85L)

Ben Lane- unsold (Base Price- 6.75L)

Angaa Pratama- unsold (Base Price- 11.55L)

Bodin Isara- sold for 18L North Eastern Warriors (Base Price- 18L)

Maneepong Jongit- unsold (Base Price- 20L)

Krishna Garaga- sold for 1L North Eastern Warriors (Base Price- 1L)

M.R. Arjun- sold for 2L to Pune 7 Aces (Base Price- 2L)

Pranav Jerry Chopra- sold for 6L to Mumbai Rockets (Base Price- 10L)

Kim Duk Young- unsold (Base Price- 10L)

Rasika Raje- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Rituparna Das- sold for 8L to Pune 7 Aces (Base Price- 2.5L)

Meghana Jakkampudi- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Jessica Pugh- sold for 13L Mumbai Rockets (Base Price- 6.75L)

Now, we will have the last round of bidding.

The players below were not fought for. Straightforward buys

Tak Ching Chang -sold for 12L to Bengaluru Raptors (Base Price- 1L)

Kiran George- sold to Hyderabad Hunters 1L(Base Price- 1L)

Ruthvika Shivani  Gade- sold to Hyderabad Hunters for 1L (Base Price- 1L)

Z un Jun Hao- unsold  (Base Price- 5.25L)

 

WE ARE BACK!

As of now, Pune and Chennai have managed to build a strong doubles team. On the contrary, North Eastern Warriors have strong players in both the singles categories. Mumbai has few, but strong names in its rank so far. Awadhe Warriors have a few decent players as well.

We are moments away from starting the last round of auction. 

Hyderabad has bought four and Mumbai has bought five. Awadhe has also bought eight players so far. Pune has also bought nine players. North Eastern has bought eight players.

We are moments away from what should be the final phase of PBL 5 auction. Bengaluru has only bought 3 players and still has 66L in its purse.  On the other hand, Chennai is only remaining with 4L in its purse after buying 11 players. It is done for the day as a team can buy 11 players at most.

Once again, franchises have been asked to write down players' names and codes they are still interested in buying. If there is a clash, they will auction the player. If there is no clash, then the players will be sold to the interested team at base price.

 

CURRENTLY BIDDING- MEN'S SINGLES (RESERVES)

Darren Liew- sold for 33L to Hyderabad Hunters (Base Price- 5L)

Suppanyu Avihingsanon - unsold (Base Price- 5L)

Chirag Sen- unsold (Base Price- 5L)

Teck Zhi Soo-unsold (Base Price- 5L)

Lu Chian Hung- unsold (Base Price- 5L)

B.M. Rahul Bharadwaj- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Kaushal Dharmamer- sold for 1L to North Eastern Warriors(Base Price- 1L)

Shreyansh Jaiswal- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Tiang Houwei- STILL UNSOLD (Base Price- 32L)

Aryamann Tandon- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Iskandar Zulkarnain- unsold (Base Price- 7.25L)

Huang Jia Hong- unsold (Base Price- 8L)

Ajay Satish- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Bodit Joshi- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Kazumasa Sakai- LATE, LATE BID! sold for 5L to Pune 7 Aces (Base Price- 5L)

Pratul Joshi- unsold (Base Price- 2L)

B.R. Sankeerth- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Brice Leverdez- unsold (Base Price- 15L)

Vladimir Malkov- unsold (Base Price- 2.50L)

Ansal Yadav- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Rahul Yadav- unsold (Base Price- 2L)

Wong Win Ki Vincent- unsold (Base Price- 20L)

K. Sathish Kumar- sold for 1L to Chennai Superstarz (Base Price- 1L)

Nyugen Tien Minh- unsold (Base Price- 6L)

Ajay Jayaram- sold for 5L to Awadhe Warriors(Base Price- 5L)

Lucas Corvee- unsold (Base Price- 4L)

Jason Anthony Ho-Shue- unsold (Base Price- 5L)

Pablo Abian- unsold (Base Price- 7.5L)

Lee Hyun Il- unsold (Base Price- 40L)

Tarun Khatam- un sold (Base Price- 1L)

Priyanshu Rajawat- un sold (Base Price- 1L)

Kiran George- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Chong Wei Fend- unsold (Base Price- 15L)

Naresh S. Iyer- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

Kiran Balaji- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

A.S. Siril Verma- unsold (Base Price- 15L)

Saneeth D.S.- unsold (Base Price- 1L)

 

All franchises have mutually agreed to have another go at Men's Singles.

For each category (men's singles, doubles, women's singles, doubles) the teams need to write down the player number and names they are interested in. Those mentioned will be re-auctioned.

Right then, we are done with all the names and it's time to head to the reserve players.

CURRENTLY BIDDING: Men's SINGLES

Another round of fierce bidding that Awadhe misses out on!

Loh Kean Yew- sold for 36L to Pune 7 Aces (Base Price- 10L)

Chong Wei Feng- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 15L)

How about that for a rise! From 10L to 41L, Sourabh Verma's hardwork in 2019 is paying rich dividents. Another intense round of bidding, only for Hyderabad to emerge on top.

Sourabh Verma- sold for 41L Hyderabad Hunters (Base Price- 10L)

Chirag Sen- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Lee Dong Keun- sold for 30L to Mumbai Rockets(Base Price- 15L)

Bodhit Joshi- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Brice Leverdez- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 15L)

The 18-year-old and world no. 41 has won four titles this year and was in high demand with Awadhe and Chennai. Look at the rise there! Former Pune player will now play for Chennai.

Lakshya Sen- sold for 36L to Chennai Superstarz (Base Price- 10L)

Pratul Joshi- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 2L)

Huang Jia Hong- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 8L)

Iskandar Zulkarnain- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 7.25L)

Wong Wing Ki Vincent- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 20L)

Aryaman Tandon- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Lu Chia Hung- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5L)

Darren Liew- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 15L)

WOW! What a bid! It was Mumbai and Hyderabad going and at the very end, North East comes out of nowhere and bids a hefty 50L. Talk about smart bidding!

Lee Cheuk Yiu- sold for 50L to North Eastern Warriors (Base Price- 20L)

Kaushal Dharmamer- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Lee Hyun Il- SHOCKER! un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 40L)

Vladimir Malkov- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 2.5 L)

Shreyansh Jaiswal- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

A.S. Siril Verma- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 3L)

K. Satish Kumar- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Parupalli Kashyap- sold for 43L Mumbai Rockets (Base Price-25L)

Sankar Muthusamy- sold for 1L to Chennai Superstarz (Base Price-1L)

Mithun Manjunath- sold for 1L to Pune 7 Aces(Base Price-1L)

Priyanshu Rajawat- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Suppanyu Avihingsanon- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5L)

Ajay Jayaram- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5L)

Tarun Khatam- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Subankar Dey- sold for Awadhe Warriors (Base Price- 7L)

B.M. Rahul Bharadwaj- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Ajay Satish- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Pablo Abian- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 7.50L)

Teck Zhi Soo- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5L)

Nguyen Tien Minh- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 6L)

Ansal Yadav- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Naresh Iyer- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Lucas Corvee- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 4L)

Tommy Sugiarto- sold for 41L to Chennai Superstarz(Base Price- 30L)

Kiran Balaji- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Kazumasa Sakai- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5L)

B.R. Sankeerth- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Kiran George- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Tian Houwei- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 32L)

Jason Anthony Ho-Shue- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5L)

Rahul Yadav Chittaboina - un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 2L)

Saneeth D.S.- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

WE ARE BACK FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF AUCTION!

The first round of the auction is over. It's time for a small coffee break at the venue in New Delhi.

In what was relatively a quiet session, as most players went unsold, there were two players who were in very high demand-

1) Tai Tzu Ying- The women's world No.1 was sold for 77L to Bengaluru Raptors. But, the decision was made in an amusing way. Both, Pune 7 Aces and Bengaluru battled each other from Tai's base price of 70L to 77L. In such a case, there is something called Draw of Lots and the winner is decided by randomly picking a name from a hat.

2) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy- His bidding started with a base price of 25L and he was eventually sold for 62L to Chennai Superstarz. Awadhe Warriors, Hyderabad Hunters and Chennai indulged in a fierce round of bidding for India's top doubles player.

 

Big names sent to reserves! (SHOCKERS)

1) Mohammad Ahsan- The 32-year-old Indonesian went unsold in the men's doubles category. Considering his base price of 40L, he was touted to be bough for much higher. The three-time World Championships gold medallist, 2014 Asian Games medallist will have to wait.

2) Chai Biao- The Chinese player was also priced at 40L and went unsold.  The five-time Sudirman Cup gold medallist and four-time Asian Championships bronze medallist will be having his fingers crossed when he will go under the hammer later on.

 

SPENDINGS SO FAR- MONEY LEFT IN PURSE

Awadhe: 154L - 46L

Chennai:  117L - 83L

Hyderabad:  91L - 109L

North Eastern: 117L - 83L

Pune: 124.5L - 75.5L

Bengaluru: 134L - 66L

Mumbai: 102L - 98

 

 

Coffee break for 15 minutes it gives us enough time to recap the action from the first 90 minutes.

 

CURRENTLY BIDDING: Men's DOUBLES

Or Chin Chun- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 10L)

Kim Sa Rang- sold for 40L to Mumbai Rockets (Base Price- 40L)

Saurabh Sharma- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Tam Chun Hei- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 7L)

Mak Hee Chun- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 22L)

Jacco Arends- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 7L)

Wang Sijie- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 15L)

Mads Conrad Petersen- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 20L)

Chan Peng Soon- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 18L)

Bodin Isara- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 18L)

NYL Yakura- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5.70L)

Pranav Jerry Chopra- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 6L)

Rohan Kapoor- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Ricky- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 11.55L)

Tak Ching Chang- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 12L)

Vasantha Kumar- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Lim Khim Wah- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 9.10L)

Ko Sung Hun- sold for 55L to Awadhe Warriors (Base Price- 40L)

Maneepong Jongit- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 20L)

Krishna Prasad- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 1L)

Zhang Wen- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 18L)

Zun Jun Hao- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5.25L)

Manu Attri- L ATE BID! sold for 10L to Chennai Superstarz  (Base Price- 10L)

Mohammad Ahsan- SHOCKER! un sold and he goes to the reserves   (Base Price- 40L)

Joshua Hurlburt-Yu- un sold and he goes to the reserves(Base Price- 5L)

Lee Yong Dae- sold for 44L to North Eastern Warriors (Base Price- 30L)

Gouse Shaik- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

M.R. Arjun- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Angga Pratama- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 11.55L)

P.S.K. Saikumar- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Sanyam Shukla- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Tan Boon Heong- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 20L)

Dhruv Kapilla- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Chai Biao- SHOCKER! un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 40L)

Vladimir Ivanov- sold for 14Lto Hyderabad Hunters  (Base Price- 10L)

Rian Agung Sapturo- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 10.85L)

Arun George- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Shlok Ramachandran- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Chris Adcock- sold for 32Lto Pune 7 Aces (Base Price- 30L)

Tang Chun Man- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 28L)

Ashith Surya- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Shivam Sharma- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Shin Baek Cheol- sold for 45L to Awadhe Warriors  (Base Price- 40L)

Utkarsh Arora- "No bid, no interest and we send him to the reserves"- as Bob the bidder says it. un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

This was such an intense bid, first of its kind for the day. That's the kind of bidding we want to see. After Bengaluru and Pune tied for Tai Tzu Ying and Bengaluru got lucky, this was the most interesting bid.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy - sold for 62Lto Chennai Superstarz  (Base Price- 25L)

Sean Vendy- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 5.75L)

Hendra Setiawan- s old for 40L to Pune 7 Aces (Base Price-40L)

Ben Lane -un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price-6.75L)

Vignesh Devlekar- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Kim Duk Young- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 10L)

Law Cheuk Him- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 10L)

Lin Guipu- un sold and he goes to the reserves (Base Price- 15L)

Ivan Sozonov- un sold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 10L)

 

CURRENTLY BIDDING: Women's SINGLES

Riya Mookerjee- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Thi Trang Vu- s old for 6L to Pune (Base Price- 6L)

Evgeniya Kosetskaya- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 5L)

Tai Tzu Ying goes to Bengaluru Raptors for 77L.

Now, a name will be drawn from the hat.

Tai Tzu Ying- DRAW OF LOTS at 77L to Pune and Bengaluru both want the world No. 1 (Base Price- 70L)

Kanika Kanwal- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Michelle Li- s old for 20L to North Eastern Warriors (Base Price- 20L)

Vaidehi Choudhary- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Kirsty  Gilmour- s old for 10L to Chennai Superstarz(Base Price- 10L)

Saili Rane- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Beatrice Corrales- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 2.5L)

Mughda Agrey- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Ruthvika Shivani Gade- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Anura Prabhudesai- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Ashmita Chaliha- sold for 3Lto North Eastern Warriors (Base Price- 3L)

Medha Shashidharan- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Rituparna Das - unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 2.5L)

Vaishnavi Bhale- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Gayatri Gopichand- sold for 2L to Chennai Superstarz (Base Price- 1L)

Lianne Tan- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 48L)

Vrushali Gummadi- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 3L)

Shriyanshi Pardeshi- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1.5L)

Lee Hang- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 6L)

Rasika Raje- unsold and she goes to the reserves  (Base Price- 1L)

Tanvi Lad - unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

 

CURRENTLY BIDDING: Women's MIXED DOUBLES

Pia Zebadiah- s old for 17L to Mumbai Rockets (Base Price- 17L)

Karishma Wadkar- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

N. Sikki Reddy- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 20L)

Kuhoo Garg- sold for 1L to Pune 7 Aces (Base Price- 1L)

Christinna Pedersen- sold for 15L to Awadhe Warriors (Base Price- 11L)

Eom Hye Won - s old for 25L to Bengaluru Raptors (Base Price- 25L)

Simran Singh- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 1L)

Manisha K- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 3L)

Chau Hoi Wah- unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price- 22L)

Jessia Pugh- unsold and she goes to the reserves. (Base Price- 6.75L)

Lee Chia Hsin- unsold and she goes to the reserves . (Base Price- 20L)

Harika V- unsold and she goes to the reserves. (Base Price- 1L)

Meghana Jakkampudi - unsold and she goes to the reserves. (Base Price- 1L)

Tse Ting Suet- sold for 30L to Pune 7 Aces.  (Base Price- 28L)

Anoushkha Parikh- unsold and she goes to the reserves . (Base Price- 3L)

Rutuparna Panda - sold for 1L to North East Warriors  (Base Price-1L)

Ashwini Ponnappa - unsold and she goes to the reserves (Base Price-15L)

Gabrielle Adcock - sold for 20L to Chennai Superstarz(base price- 20L)

Kim Ha Na- soldfor 27L to North Eastern Warriors (base price- 20L)

Kamilla Rhyter Jhul- unsold and she goes to the reserves

Luo Yu- unsold and she goes to the reserves

Sanjana Santosh - sold for 2L to Chennai Superstarz (base price)

 

Round 1 of auction (RETENTIONS):

B. Sai Praneeth- sold for 32L to Bengaluru Raptors

B. Sumeeth Reddy -  sold for 11L to Chennai Super Starz

Beiwen Zhang- sold for 29L to Awadhe Warriors

P.V. Sindhu- sold for 77L to Hyderabad Hunters

Kim Ji Yung- sold for 45L to Mumbai Rockets

Tanongsak- sold for 25L to North Eastern Warriors

Chirag Shetty- sold for 15.5L to Pune 7 Aces

" Bob the bidder" is ready and the auction begins!!!

Teams participating in the auction today:

• Bengaluru Raptors
• Mumbai Rockets
• Awadhe Warriors
• Chennai Superstarz
• Hyderabad Hunters
• North Eastern Warriors
• Pune 7 Aces

Where to watch the auction?

You can either watch the auction LIVE on the league's Facebook page or follow the updates as they happen right here in this live blog.

We are moments away from the beginning of the auction! Till then, let's have a look at previous champions!

2013-Hyderabad Hotshots won the inaugural season of the league, which was then known as Indian Badminton League (IBL)

2016- Delhi Dashers won the second season of the Premier Badminton League

2017- Chennai Smashers

2018- Bengaluru Raptors

While we wait for the auctions to begin, here's a quick update from another important badminton event - the Syed Modi International. Saina Nehwal and the Chinese top seeds have withdrawn from the tournament.
 

PBL5 - At a Glance:

Total number of Teams: 7

Total number of Venues: 4 (Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Chennai)

Total number of players: 154

Total number of Indians: 74

Total number of foreigners: 80

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

The Chennai franchise has renamed it team from Chennai Smashers to Chennai Superstarz

 

 

Purse available to each franchise: INR 2 crore
Maximum amount that can be spent on a player: INR 77 Lakh

The auction: All you need to know

List of retained players: Hyderabad Hunters has retained PV Sindhu for 77 lakhs, the maximum amount for a player. Other retained players include B Sai Praneeth for Bengaluru Raptors, B Summeth Reddy for Chennai Superstarz, Beiwen Zhang for Awadhe Warriors and Kim Gi Jung for Mumbai Rockets.


Teams can have a maximum of six foreign players and a minimum of three female shuttlers in a squad of not more than 11 players.

What's new this time?

A trading policy has been introduced this time. A minimum of two transactions will be allowed per team in trading that will come into effect 15 days after the end of the auction. This window closes 10 days before the League begins.

Auction Preview :

World No. 1 TaiTzuYing and world champion PVSindhu are all set to go under the hammer as the Players Auction of the fifth season of the Premier Badminton League will be held on Tuesday.

154 players will be part of the auction that will also see Sai Praneeth , who won India’s first men’s singles World Championships medal in 36 years, featuring along with World No. 8 men’s doubles pair of of SatwiksairajRankireddy and ChiragShetty , who have been rewriting Indian badminton history. The in-form LakshyaSen , who won four titles in the past two months, will also be a big attraction for badminton lovers.

The PBL, organized under the aegis of Badminton Association of India will see a total of 74 shuttlers from India participating.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallists AshwiniPonnappa and SikkiReddy and in-form SourabhVerma and ParuppaliKashyap are also in the fray. Emerging stars like Gayatri Gopichand, Ashmita Chaliha and Rituparna Panda will also be making their PBL debut this season among the promising talent to watch out for in this pan-India badminton extravaganza to be held from January 20, 2020 to February 9, 2020.

Indonesia’s men’s doubles world champions MohammadAhsan and HendraSetiawan , who took Bengaluru Raptors to the title last season, will be spearheading the 80 foreign players this season. Doubles superstar Lee Yong Dae will be returning as well along with singles exponents, Beiwen Zhang and Michelle Li.

The fifth season will also see first-timers in men’s singles World No. 69 Kazumasa Sakai from Japan and Huang Jia Hong from China, with the latter being accompanied by his compatriot PBL regular Tian Houwei.

When does the Premier Badminton League start?

The fifth edition of the PBL will go on from January 20 till February 9 2020.

What are the venues this season?

Four cities will host PBL action this time: Chennai, Delhi, Lucknow, and Bangalore.

Tournament purse

An INR 6 crore purse has been set aside for the tournament with the winners taking INR 3 crore.

Where can one watch the games?

Matches can be watched on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.