The Badminton Association of India has decided to hold an exclusive event, ‘Indian Badminton League’ for domestic shuttlers, an Indian take away of the more trendy Premier Badminton League which concluded last month.
The event will not only help Indian shuttlers, including juniors to hone their skills by playing against their seniors and superiors on home court, but would also give them an opportunity to fetch good money.
Chief of the Badminton Association of India Akhilesh Das Gupta confirmed the plans of a ‘desi’ Indian Badminton League (IBL) soon after the Rio Olympics. “Yes, we have plans to do it as we got tremendous response for the PBL, and I think this is the best way to help domestic shuttlers get attention,” Das Gupta said.
“The scale of the event would not be like PBL in terms of prize money and the glamour, but there would be many new things to attract shuttlers and fans,” he added.
The IBL too would remain a six-team affair with 10 Indian players each. Unlike PBL, which was played in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Lucknow, it is likely to be played in new cities like Noida, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Vijaywada, Jaipur and Patna.
{{/usCountry}}The IBL too would remain a six-team affair with 10 Indian players each. Unlike PBL, which was played in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Lucknow, it is likely to be played in new cities like Noida, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Vijaywada, Jaipur and Patna.
{{/usCountry}}BAI is thinking of keeping the auction purse for each of the franchise as Rs 50 lakh with the total prize money of the event at around Rs 1 crore. “We can think of giving an additional Rs 5 lakh to the franchise for auctions,” Das Gupta said.
He said IBL too would be shown live on TV and for that big broadcaster would be roped in soon.