THE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (BAI) along with marketing partner Sportzlive, has kickstarted preparations for the second edition of the Indian Badminton League (IBL) scheduled for next year in January.
Five franchises have confirmed their participation in the league that promises to be bigger and better in season two. The Chennai team will be replacing Pune Pistons, which was owned by Dabur India Limited in the first season. On the other hand, Sahara India Pariwar have retained the ownership of Lucknow-based franchise Awadhe Warriors, while Infinite Computer Solutions (ICS) are set to be the new owners of Delhi Smashers.
So far, names of only two team owners have been revealed. The rest of the details will be unveiled soon, as confirmed by BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta. One of the major changes in the second edition would be an increase in the player money, as BAI plans to increase the salary cap from the existing price to INR 1.5 crore.
IBL 2 returns after a gap of two years and will be held across six cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. This time, BAI has promised to make the event even more glamorous by inviting famous Bollywood celebrities to join the league.
The IBL has had its fair share of delays right from the auctions of the first season to the commencement of the second. The tournament is finally scheduled for the first fortnight of January 2016.
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