The Indian Badminton League’s glamour quotient has gone up by quite a few notches with a consortium involving former cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar and Telugu actor Nagarjuna buying the event’s Mumbai franchise.
The consortium also includes former manager of the Indian cricket team and businessman Vankina Chamundeswaranath. The team will be called Mumbai Masters.
“I am proud to be associated with badminton which I’ve always admired and passionately followed and played a bit as a fan. The sport has produced legends and recorded many milestones for India and I hope my association with the Indian Badminton League proves to be a worthy contribution to the great sport of badminton,” Gavaskar said in a release.
The $ one million league is set to launch on August 14 with some high-voltage action expected between PVP’s Hyderabad Hotshots and BOP Group’s Banga Beats.
A total of 90 matches will be played in the IBL which will feature six franchises.
The IBL will be held in six cities from August 14-31. The tournament will feature some of the top-50 players in the world and will be played under the Sudirman Cup format and televised LIVE to more than 100 countries.
Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Lucknow are the six cities that will feature in the first edition of IBL.
Each franchise will host a two-day leg and the top four franchises will clash in the semi-finals and the winners will meet in the grand final on August 31 in Mumbai.