Shuttles out, IBL is here
Indian Premier League (IPL) since its launch in 2007 has become extremely popular with cricket lovers, both in India and abroad. This franchisee based, city named teams harbor a lot of support from those city members too. Now, modeling on IPL, come 2013 get ready for IBL i.e. Indian Badminton League.
Currently, eight cities are in the fray including Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Nagpur and the organizers will settle on six franchisees that get the best bids. IBL offers the richest prize money ever given in Badminton, US $ 1 million and as many as 66 foreign and Indian players are expected to take part in the league. The auction of IBL players will take place in March. Top Indian badminton players like Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will get a base price of $50000 for simply being a part of the game. The winning franchisee in the 16 day league stands to get Rs.3.5 crore.
IBL will be held in the monsoons, the month after IPL gets over. The first ever IBL will be held from 24th June to 11th July, 2013. Hopefully, we will have more students aspiring to become “Nehwal” or “Ponnappa” rather than all wanting to become “Tendulkar” or “Dhoni” who currently does not seem to be on a good run.