From a Correspondent
New Delhi, Oct, 11,
The 4th edition of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League saw a sizeable jump in the overall earnings for Indian players compared to the last three seasons as the world’s most competitive badminton league is all set to see the 40 Indians in action among the 67 that participated in the auction pool earlier on Monday.
HS Prannoy, the most consistent player in PBL was elevated to a “Icon Status” for the first time, this season; his base prize in Season 3 was INR 30 lakh and he had fetched INR 62 lakhs, the highest in previous season. The World No 15 this year however has earned a whooping INR 80 lakh due to his marquee status and most teams bidding for him.
“I am extremely happy that PBL had promoted me to the Icon Category and I am thankful to my team, Delhi Dashers for picking me for the forthcoming season. PBL has always been a happy hunting ground and I will continue to give my best and help my team stay in contention till the end,” said the 2018 Asian Champion medallist who will be donning the Dalmia Cements Group owned Delhi Dashers colours this season.
Rising doubles star, Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy also witnessed a meteoric leap in his earnings since the first season of PBL. The quarterfinalist of this year’s World Championship, Satwik not only had a dream run throughout this season but also played a crucial role play alongside 2016 Rio Olympic Gold Medalist, Carolina Marin for the Hunters to lift the trophy last year. His opening bid value of INR 15 lakhs this season was almost quadrupled by Padmanabh Sports Pvt Ltd owned Ahmedabad Smash Masters, who went all guns blazing amidst fierce bidding to acquire his services for a staggering figure of INR 52 lakhs.
Shedding light on their decision to splurge on the youngster, Padmanabh Sports Pvt Ltd Ahmedabad Smash Masters owner Mr.Ashish Shah said, “Satwik is a utility player who can play both men’s and mixed doubles and is an extremely energetic team member. We are confident he will be an asset for the team on and off court. He has been in great form this season and will be an integral cog of the team ecosystem heading into PBL 4.”
2018 Commonwealth bronze medal winner and experienced doubles player, Ashwini Ponnappa was yet another Indian to break the bank after she was bought by the Awadhe Warriors for a hefty amount of INR 32 lakhs, a steep increase from the INR 20 lakhs, her base price buy last season.
Coming up the ranks fast, young and promising Lakshya Sen who also threw in the hat for the first time at the PBL auctions attracted interest from the franchises. However, the reigning Junior Asian Champion was eventually picked for a lucrative INR 11 lakhs, more than double his base price of INR 5 lakhs by the Taapsee Pannu owned debutant Pune franchise, Pune7Aces.
The list of key Indian gainers also includes, 2018 Swiss Open Champion Sameer Verma who was bought by Mumbai Rocket once again for INR 42 lakhs, fetching him more than double his base price of INR 15 lakh. His elder brother, Sourabh Verma too saw a jump in his base price as he was sold to Ahmedabad Smash Masters for INR 16 lakh.
Manu Atri (INR 18 Lakh-Mumbai Rockets); Chirag Shetty (INR14 Lakh- Pune7Aces) Sikki Reddy (INR 29 Lakh-Ahmedabad Smash Masters)MR Arjun (INR 5 lakh- Awadhe Warriors)- the doubles specialists saw a sizeable jump in their earnings this season.
The auction has not just been beneficial in springboarding the Indian players, but strategic buying by some of the teams have also allowed them to save up from their total team purse. Chennai Smashers, Pune 7 Aces and North Eastern Warriors were the biggest savers, managing to keep INR 19 lakhs, INR 14 lakhs and INR 8 lakhs respectively even after putting together the teams.
