Sai Praneeth retained by Hyderabad Hunters: Who said the Koreans and the Chinese are the biggest draws in the tournament so far? Sai Praneeth, who was earlier taken by Bengaluru Blasters, is now retained by Hyderabad Hunter for Rs 40 Lakh.

Meanwhile, Tanongsak S is retained by the reigning champions for Rs 25 Lakh. Frenchman Brice Leverdez goes for Rs 18 Lakh

Mumbai Rockets now with a prized catch. Sameer Verma goes for Rs 52 Lakh in what already looks like a formidable lineup.

And....we have the biggest signing of the evening so far as Indian ace HS Prannoy goes to Ahmedabad Smash Masters for Rs 62 Lakh. Massive coup at such a late stage.

World Number 11 Beiwen Zhang will be the women’s singles player for Mumbai Rockets. She goes for Rs 33 Lakh. In what is the biggest bid of the auction, Delhi Acers sign Tian Houwei for Rs 58 Lakh.

Tian Houwei | Photo courtesy: BWF

Yet another quality buy from North Eastern Warriors. Ruthvika Shivani Gadde goes for Rs 9 Lakh.

A good show in the All India Nationals helps Kidambi Nandagopal find a PBL side. He goes for for his base price of Rs 1 Lakh to Ahmedabad Smash Masters.

Bengaluru Blasters now throw their hat in the ring. Another Korean, Kim Sa Rang goes for Rs 49 Lakh.

Bengaluru Blasters have submitted a successful bid for Denmark’s Mathias Boe for Rs 41 Lakh. Meanwhile, Koreans continue to command huge sums. Former World Championships silver-medallist Yoo Yeon Seong will play for the Hyderabad Hunters this season, goes for an astronomical Rs 53 Lakh.

Image courtesy: Bengaluru Blasters

Teams continue to lavish big money on the doubles players. Chris Adcock joins wife Gabby Adcock for Rs 54 Lakh at Sindhu’s Chennai Smashers.

Photo courtesy: Chris and Gabby Adcock

Some eye-watering money spent for the doubles specialists here. South Korea veteran Shin Baek Cheoul is pocketed by North Eastern Warriors for a whopping Rs 55 Lakh, one of the most expensive buys in the auctions so far.

Doubles specialist Pranaav Jerry Chopra has been taken by Delhi Acers for Rs 18 Lakh. Meanwhile, Manu Atri is taken by Bengaluru Blasters for Rs 17 Lakh.

North Eastern Warriors may have pulled off quite a coup here. They have snapped up Chirag Shetty for Rs 5 Lakh. Bulgaria’s Gabriela Stoeva is signed up by Mumbai Rockets.

Delhi Acers use their ‘Right to Match’ option and retain Ivan Sozonov after Chennai Smashers had submitted a bid for the Russian. Kamilla Rytter Juhl, Denmark’s doubles silver-medallist, will play for Ahmedabad Smash Masters.

Doubles specialist Aarti Sara Sunil, fresh from winning silver in the Polish International, moves to Delhi Acers for her base price of Rs 3 Lakh.

Bulgaria’s Gabriela Stoeva will make her PBL debut for Mumbai Rockets. She was picked up for Rs20 lakh

Denmark’s Kamilla Rytter Juhl goes to Ahmedabad Smash Masters for Rs 35 lakh.

Delhi Acers pick up Ashwini Ponnappa for Rs 20 lakh.

Indonesia’s Pia Zebadiah is picked up by Hyderabad Hunters for Rs14 lakh.

Gabby Adcock will play once again for defending champions Chennai Smashers for a whopping Rs 48 lakh

Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun will play for Delhi Acers as he has been picked up for Rs50 lakh

World Champion Viktor Axelsen will play for the Bengaluru Blasters once again as he is picked up for Rs50 lakh.

Mumbai Rockets bag the services of World No 2 Son Wan Ho for Rs50 lakh

Olympic champion Carolina Marin stays with Hyderabad Hunters. She goes for Rs 50 lakh.

Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang goes to the North Eastern Warriors for Rs52 lakhs

Ahmedabad Smash Masters bag Tai Tzu Ying, who is the All England Champion for Rs 52 lakh to kick-start the auction

Each team can bid for a maximum of Rs71 lakh for a particular player.

Chennai Smashers retain PV Sindhu
Bengaluru Blasters retain Sikki Reddy
Awadhe Warriors retain Saina Nehwal and Srikanth Kidambi
Hyderabad Hunters retain Satwik Sairaj
Mumbai Rockets retain Lee Yong Dae
Delhi Acers retain Vladimir Ivanov

New Teams can use 1 right to match for players who are making their debut in PBL. Teams need to spend a minimum Rs 2.12 crore.

Here is how retention works.

Old teams: One player can be retained and right to one match can be used.

A team can have maximum a two icon players and a minimum of one. One player has to be from the under-17 category. Total team kitty is Rs 2.4 crore.

The rules of PBL are out. There will be 11 players in each franchise with a maximum of 5 foreign players and minimum of 3 women players.

There seems to be some sort of delay as the auction will now begin after lunch.

PBL Auction Quick Facts:
Total No of Team - 8
Total no of Event Days- 24 days (December 22nd 2017-January 14th 2018)
Total No of Venue of Play- 5
Total No of Players for Auction-133
Total Countries Represented-11
Total No of Top 10 Ranked Players - 17
Total No of Top 20 Ranked Players - 32
No of Icon Players and no of Indian Players -9 including three Indians
Total No of Olympic Medalists–10

Total No of Team - 8
Total no of Event Days- 24 days (December 22nd 2017-January 14th 2018)
Total No of Venue of Play- 5
Total No of Players for Auction-133