Premier Badminton League
Premier Badminton League (PBL) is a team badminton league held in India. Sportz & Live Private Limited (Sportzlive) has the rights to operate and execute the Premier Badminton League.
| Most recent season or competition: 2020 Premier Badminton League | |
 | |
| Formerly | Indian Badminton League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Badminton |
| Inaugural season | 2016 |
| Administrator | Badminton Association of India |
| Country | India |
| Venue(s) | Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore , Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Lucknow and Guwahati |
| Most recent champion(s) | Bengaluru Raptors (2nd title) |
| Most titles | Bengaluru Raptors (2 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | List of broadcasters |
| Sponsor(s) | Star Sports, Bridgestone |
| Tournament format | Round-robin and knock-out |
| Official website | pbl-india |
The inagural season of PBL was held from 2 to 17 January 2016. Delhi Dashers (formerly Delhi Acers) defeated Mumbai Rockets in the final to clinch the title. The second season began on 22 December 2016 and came to end on 14 January 2017 with the Chennai Smashers headed by P. V. Sindhu clinching the title in the finals. The third season began on 23 December 2017 and came to end on 14 January 2018 with Hyderabad Hunters headed by Carolina Marin emerging as the champions. Bengaluru Raptors won the last two editions in 2018-19 and 2020, becoming the only team to win the title twice.
Organisation
Tournament format
Teams play each other in round-robin format in league stage. Each team plays six ties in the league stage in which each tie consists of five matches. The matches played are two Men's singles, Women's singles, Men's doubles and Mixed doubles. Each of these matches are best of 3 games.[1] After league stage, the top four teams in the table will qualify for the knockout stage. The winners of semi-finals goes into the final, in which the winner will be crowned the PBL champions.
Player auctions
The player auctions are usually held at the end of each year for the subsequent season. Professional players from around the world enter the bidding where teams buy them.[2] The league has helped players more than double their annual earnings from prize money in the year 2018. According to the prominent Danish player Victor Axelsen, this was a crucial part of their annual income.[3] Each franchise has a purse of ₹2 crore (US$280,000) and the maximum a team can spend on a single player was ₹77 lakh (US$110,000) in the most recent 2020 auction.[4]
Fifth Season
The fifth season auctions were held on 26 November 2019 in New Delhi.[5] Each franchise had a purse of ₹2 crore (US$280,000), and were not allowed to spend more than ₹77 lakh (US$110,000) on a single player.[4][5] The highest paid players were the Taiwanese Tai Tzu-ying and Indian P. V. Sindhu, both sold for the maximum amount of ₹77 lakh (US$110,000) to Bengaluru Raptors and Hyderabad Hunters respectively. Indian doubles player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was the next highest, bought for ₹62 lakh (US$87,000) by Chennai Superstarz.[6]
2020 being the Olympic year, key players like Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, Carolina Marin, Victor Axelsen and others have decided to skip the season.[7][8]
Some of the players were traded between Mumbai, Chennai and Pune teams ahead of the season.[9]
Franchises
Currently seven franchises compete in the league.[10] There were nine franchises in the previous season(2018–19).[11][10][6][9]
Current Franchises
| Franchise name | City | Owner(s) | Highest Paid (Male) | Highest Paid (Female) | Home ground | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad Hunters | Hyderabad | Agile Security Force |  Sourabh Verma |
P.V. Sindhu |
Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad | |
| Bengaluru Raptors | Bangalore | Matrix Teamwork Badminton Pvt. Ltd | B. Sai Praneeth |
 Tai Tzu Ying |
Koramangala Indoor Stadium, Bangalore | |
| Awadhe Warriors | Lucknow | Sahara India Pariwar |  Ko Sung-hyun |
 Beiwen Zhang |
Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow | |
| Mumbai Rockets | Mumbai | Devyani Leisures | Kim Gi-jung |
 Pia Zebadiah |
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium, Mumbai | |
| Chennai Smashers | Chennai | R. Sivakumar, Aditya Meesala | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy |
 Jessica Pugh |
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai | |
| Northeastern Warriors | Guwahati | The Eastern Warriors Pvt Ltd |  Lee Cheuk Yiu |
Kim Ha Na |
Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium, Guwahati | |
| Pune 7 Aces | Pune | Tapsee Pannu, KRI | Hendra Setiawan |
Gabby Adcock |
Shri Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex | |
Seasons
First Season (Season 1)
In 2016, the league was renamed from Indian Badminton League to Premier Badminton League, and still followed same format. This first season of the PBL started on 2 January 2016 and concluded on 17 January 2016. The four teams to proceed to the semi-finals were Delhi Dashers, Chennai Smashers, Awadhe Warriors and Mumbai Rockets. Delhi beat Chennai 4-3 and Mumbai Rockets beat Awadhe Warriors 3-1 to proceed to the final. Delhi Dashers won the tournament after beating Mumbai Rockets 4-3.
Second Season (Season 2)
The second season of the Premier Badminton League started on 1 January 2017 and concluded on 14 January 2017. It followed the same format as the earlier league, and the four teams to proceed to the semi-finals were Awadhe Warriors, Mumbai Rockets, Chennai Smashers and Hyderabad Hunters. Chennai Smashers beat Awadhe Warriors 4-1 and Mumbai Rockets beat Hyderabad Hunters 3-(-1) to proceed to the final. Chennai Smashers won the tournament after beating Mumbai Rockets 4-3.
Third Season (Season 3)
The third season of the PBL started on 23 December 2017 and concluded on 14 January 2018. Hyderabad Hunters were crowned the champions after they beat Bengaluru Blasters 4-3 in the final tie.
Fourth Season (Season 4)
The fourth season of the PBL was played from 22 December 2018 to 13 January 2019. In the fourth season Bengaluru Raptors took their first title after beating Mumbai Rockets in the final.
Fifth Season (Season 5)
The fifth season of the PBL started on 20 January 2020 and concluded on 9 February 2020. Seven teams participated in the season. Delhi Dashers and Ahmedabad Smash Masters did not participate in this edition. Total prize money of ₹6 crore (US$840,000) was announced by Sportzlive for the tournament.[12] Bengaluru Raptors beat Northeastern Warriors 4-2 in the finals to win their second title. It was also their second consecutive title in PBL.
Tournament seasons and results
Five seasons of PBL have been played since the first season in 2016. They are:
| Season | Final | Final venue | Number of
teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||
| Season 1 | Delhi Acers | 4–3 | Mumbai Rockets | DDA Badminton and Squash Stadium, New Delhi | 6 |
| Season 2 | Chennai Smashers | 4–3 | Mumbai Rockets | DDA Badminton and Squash Stadium, New Delhi | 6 |
| Season 3 | Hyderabad Hunters | 4–3 | Bengaluru Blasters | Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bangalore | 8 |
| Season 4 | Bengaluru Raptors | 4–3 | Mumbai Rockets | Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bangalore | 9 |
| Season 5 | Bengaluru Raptors | 4–2 | Northeastern Warriors | Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad | 7 |
Teams' performances
| Season (No. of teams) |
Season 1 (6) |
Season 2 (6) |
Season 3 (8) |
Season 4 (9) |
Season 5 (7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad Hunters | 5th | SF | 1st | SF | 6th |
| Bengaluru Raptors (formerly Bengaluru Top Guns and Bengaluru Blasters) | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
| Awadhe Warriors | SF | SF | 5th | SF | 5th |
| Mumbai Rockets | 2nd | 2nd | 8th | 2nd | 7th |
| Chennai Superstarz (formerly Chennai Smashers) | SF | 1st | 6th | 6th | SF |
| Northeastern Warriors | 7th | 8th | 2nd | ||
| Pune 7 Aces | 5th | SF | |||
| Delhi Dashers (formerly Delhi Acers)† | 1st | 6th | SF | 9th | DEF |
| Ahmedabad Smash Masters† | SF | 7th | DEF | ||
| 1st | Champions |
| 2nd | Runner-up |
| SF | Semi-finalists |
| DNE | Team did not exist in the respective season |
| DEF | Team defunct |
| † | Teams that no longer exist |
Team rosters
| Delhi Acers | Hyderabad Hunters | Mumbai Rockets | Awadhe Warriors | Bengaluru Blasters | Chennai Smashers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajay Jayaram | Siril Verma | Prannoy Kumar | B. Sai Praneeth | Anand Pawar |  Brice Leverdez |
| Rajiv Ouseph | Parupalli Kashyap | R.M.V. Gurusaisdutt | Sourabh Verma | Sameer Verma | Sony Dwi Kuncoro |
| Tommy Sugiarto |  Lee Chong Wei | Ruthwika Gadde |  S. Tanongsak | K. Srikanth | Simon Santoso |
| P. C. Thulasi | Supanida Katethong |  Han Li | Saina Nehwal | Suo Di | P.V. Sindhu |
| Shikha Gautam | K. Nandagopal | Liu Zi Die | G. Vrushali | B. Sumeeth Reddy | Sri Krishna Priya |
| Akshay Dewalkar | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy | Manu Attri | Cai Yun | Tan Boon Heong | Pranav Chopra |
| Koo Kien Keat | Markis Kido | Chayut Triyachart | Hendra Gunawan | Koo Kien Keat | Chris Adcock |
| Tan Boon Heong |  Carsten Mogensen |  Vladimir Ivanov | Bodin Isara | Joachim Fischer Nielsen | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Toby Ng |
| Aparna Balan | Jwala Gutta | Mathias Boe | K. Maneesha |  Robert Blair | N. Sikki Reddy |
| Gabrielle Adcock | J. Meghana | Kamilla Rytter Juhl | Christinna Pedersen | Ashwini Ponnappa | Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth |
Broadcast rights
In 2013 STAR Sports India purchased the broadcasting rights for India.[14]
| Winning bidder | Regional broadcast rights | Terms of deal |
|---|---|---|
| STAR Sports | India |
2013-2025 |
| Fox Sports | Hong Kong |
2013-2020 |
| SKY Sports |  United Kingdom |
2013-2030 |
| ESPN | United States |
2013-2023 |
| Hotstar | Worldwide digital rights | 2016–present[15] |
See also
References
- "Rules And Regulations". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- Antony, A. Joseph (12 August 2013). "Sudirman Cup-like format for IBL". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- Sachetat, Raphaël. "When private leagues help make a living". Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- Sportstar, Team. "PBL Auction- As it happened: PV Sindhu, Tai Tzu fetch big bucks, Chennai, Pune build strong teams". Sportstar. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- "7 Teams, 154 Shuttlers: All You Need to Know About PBL Auction". The Quint. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- Sportstar, Team. "PBL 5 Auction: Full team list, released and sold players". Sportstar. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- "After Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth pulls out of PBL to focus on international events". India Today. Press Trust of India. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- Richard, Dominic. "PBL 5 preview: League aims to make splash despite several stars missing". Sportstar. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- India, P. B. L. (20 January 2020). "Done deal! @gabbyadcock @7acespune Kuhoo Garg @Mumbai_Rockets_ Jessica Pugh @Superstarz_PBL Which team has made the best trade ahead of #PBLSeason5? #RiseOfTheRacquetpic.twitter.com/SYQbqTJmBh". @PBLIndiaLive. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- "Home". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- Indian Badminton League Teams Archived 26 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- "PBL 2020: Reigning world champion PV Sindhu, World No 2 Tai Tzu Ying to headline fifth edition of Premier Badminton League". Firstpost. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- "Home". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- "Indian Badminton League: Dabur nets Pune, PVP bags Hyderabad franchise". Times of India.
- Malvania, Urvi (2 January 2016). "Star Sports title sponsor of Premier Badminton League". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
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