Pune joins the PBL bandwagon; season 4 to have nine franchises

The players’ auction for the fourth edition of Premier Badminton League will be held here on October 8.

With the addition of Pune Seven Aces – owned by actress Taapsee Pannu – the competition scheduled from December 22 to January 13 will involve nine teams.

The nine franchisees will be Delhi Dashers, Mumbai Rockets, Bengaluru Raptors, Awadhe Warriors (Lucknow), Hyderabad Hunters, Chennai Smashers, Ahmedabad Smash Masters, North-East Warriors (Guwahati) and Pune Seven Aces.

Matches will be played at Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. The opening ceremony will be held in Mumbai.

The event offers Rs 6 crore in prize-money, with the winner receiving Rs 3 crore, the runner-up, Rs 1.5 crore and the losing semifinalists, Rs 75 lakh each.

Read: Srikanth, Sindhu to play for South Zone