Top Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth were sold for Rs 80 lakh each as teams left no stone unturned to get the country’s best players to lead their franchise at the players’ auction for the fourth edition of the Premier Badminton League in New Delhi on Monday.
As per the new rules, teams can shell out a maximum amount of Rs 80 lakh for a player with as many as 145 players from 23 countries being listed for the auction. Among them, Sindhu, Saina, Srikanth, Viktor Axelsen, Carolina Marin, Lee Yong-dae, Sung Ji Hyun and Son Wan Ho have been enlisted as the iconic players.
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All the players have returned to the auction table for the first time this season with no Right To Match (RTM) cards available.
Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu was bought by the defending champions Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 80 lakh, while Saina, after going unsold in the first round was bought by the North Eastern Warriors for the same amount. Reigning World Champion Marin was also bought by new entrant Pune for the same amount.
Among the men, Srikanth was bought by Bengaluru Raptors for Rs 80 lakh, while HS Prannoy went to the Delhi Dashers for the same amount.
International players Axelsen, South Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun and Lee Yong Dae were also bought by the same amount.
Meanwhile, young sensation Lakshya Sen was bought by the 7 Aces Pune for 11 lakh, while another young shuttler Sourabh Verma was picked up by Ahmedabad Smash Masters for a whopping 16 lakh.
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