Carolina Marin fetches highest price, Kidambi Srikanth costliest Indian

Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain emerged as the costliest buy of the second edition of the Premier Badminton League while Kidambi Srikanth fetched the highest amount by an Indian at the players’ auction, here on Wednesday.

Marin was bagged by Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 61.5 lakh, while Srikanth was bought for Rs 51 lakh by Awadhe Warriors.

Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu was unlucky to fetch just Rs 39 lakhs despite being the top Indian icon player after her performance at the Rio Games. Chennai Smashers, who had Sindhu in their roster even last year, smartly played the waiting game and didn’t bid for a single player until her name popped out. They got her without much hankering.

Saina Nehwal, who had fetched one of the highest amounts during the first edition, was unsold in the first round of bidding and so was retained by her previous franchise Awadhe Warriors for a base price of Rs 33 lakh. South Korean woman shuttler Sung Ji Hyun emerged as the second costliest player as she went to Mumbai Rockets for Rs 60 lakh, while Denmark’s Jan O’Jorgensen fetched Rs 59 lakh from defending champions Delhi Acers.