Mithun Manjunath becomes the most expensive player in ‘GPBL Players Draft’

National champion Mithun Manjunath emerged as the highest-paid player in the players auction for the second season of ‘Grand Prix Badminton League (GPBL)’. This league will be organized here from August 27 to September 9. The 25-year-old from Bengaluru had defeated world number seven Loh Keen Yew at the Australia Open a few days ago. Bengaluru Tigers also tried their best to include Mithun in the team but Chennai Superstars won the game by bidding Rs 14.5 lakh for this player. Mithun was among the icon class players with a base price of Rs eight lakh. Fifteen international players were also selected after the teams involved in the league were given the option of selecting more than two international players. Shin Baek Cheol was roped in by Bengaluru Tigers with the second highest bid. The franchise spent Rs 14 lakh for this Korean player.

Cheol’s compatriot Lee Dong Keun was bought by Gujarat Lions for Rs 13 lakh while World Championship bronze medalist B Sai Praneeth went to Northeast Rhinos for Rs 10 lakh. Ukraine’s Polina Buharova won the fifth highest bid. Whom Mumbai Wolves bought for nine lakh rupees. The draft selected 80 players from a list of 150 players to represent eight teams in the upcoming season. More than 500 players had registered for this auction. The eight franchise teams of the tournament – Bengaluru Tigers, Hyderabad Hounds, Chennai Superstars, Gujarat Lions, Kerala Tuskers, Mumbai Wolves, Pune Panthers and Northeast Rhinos – were allowed to spend a maximum of Rs 35 lakh in this auction. Each team consists of one icon player, a minimum of two tier-one players, a minimum of two tier-two players and a minimum of two female players. There is no option to select more than two international players.

GPBL commissioner Prashant Reddy said, “We adopted the rule of ‘maximum two international players per team’ because we wanted more and more Indian players to be a part of the GPBL.” Former India player and league director Arvind Bhatt said “The franchises have strategically built their teams keeping talent in mind. All teams are balanced. Looking at the format we have adopted for the league, no one team is a favorite to win. Every team is fiercely competitive. The Karnataka High Court has allowed the participation of Indian players in the second season of GPBL after the Badminton Association of India (BAI) circular stayed it. The BAI had asked the players to refrain from participating in the tournament.

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