Homecoming for Sindhu, Saina to don North East outfit for 4th season of PBL

Carolina Marin and P V Sindhu were expectedly the most sought after Icon Players as they were picked by Pune 7 Aces and Hyderabad Hunters respectively in the Players’ Auction of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) here Monday.The fourth season of Vodafone PBL, organised by Sportzlive under the aegis of Badminton Association of India, will kick off in Mumbai on December 22 with the final being held in Bengaluru on January 13.With no retention or Right to Match (RTM) card at disposal, the Players’ Auction was always going to be a keen contest for teams to get the combination right while looking for that one Icon Player who can inspire them to bigger glory.Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto became the highest paid non-Icon Player with the Dalmia Cement Group owned Delhi Dashers splurging INR 70 lakh for his services. The Delhi outfit won a tense battle with two other teams to acquire the World No 11, paying INR 40 lakh above his base price.Among the Indians, rising doubles star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was the top draw and Padmanabh Sports Pvt Ltd owned Ahmedabad Smash Masters outbid the Hyderabad Hunters to secure the youngster for INR 52 lakh, a massive jump from his base price of INR 15 lakh.
Given the strong pool of players in the auction, it was interesting to see the strategies the teams implemented to build their squad as three of these players could be retained for the next two seasons as well.Marin and Sindhu were the obvious choice for almost all the teams. At least four teams raised the prize purse to INR 80 lakh, the maximum limit a team can bid for a player, before the players got assigned to the teams by a draw of lots.The Spaniard, who played a major role in helping Hyderabad Hunters win the title last year, would now shift base to Pune. The new outfit were clearly gunning for the three-time world champion and were understandably delighted when the announcer pulled out a chit of their name in a draw of lot.”I am very excited to be part of Pune team. Hyderabad has been like a second home for me. But now I am excited to be part the Pune team and explore this part of India,” said Marin after learning about the