Mumbai, which hosted the IBL final in August 2013, will host only two days of the PBL. Five of the six franchises will be seen in action with Delhi Acers not scheduled to play here.
At the outset, the Premier Badminton League (PBL) may not be a much-hyped league like it was two-and-a-half years ago when the Indian Badminton League (IBL) came and then disappeared.
The NSCI at Worli here was still being readied on Friday evening as the organisers got the venue only on the tournament eve after an extravagant wedding and New Year's bash.
Mumbai, which hosted the IBL final in August 2013, will host only two days of the PBL. Five of the six franchises will be seen in action with Delhi Acers not scheduled to play here.
On the opening day on Saturday evening, Mumbai Rockets take on Lucknow's Awadhe Warriors, a contest that will feature World No. 2 Saina Nehwal who was bought for $1 lakh by the Warriors at the auction.
A lot is being done to make PBL as spectator-friendly as possible, keeping in mind the TV audience as well. The PBL will be played on a 15-point format. There is a Trump Match that will see the winning team get a bonus point while the losing team will lose one. There is also Sudden Death and the 'unpredictable player draws' which is to allow "the most popular player to play when the stadium is full and when there is maximum TV viewership".
Team coaches say the adjusting to the 15-point format should not be an issue. "We give players all scenarios to adapt in practice sessions," player-turned-coach Arvind Bhatt of Bengaluru Topguns said on Friday.
Madhumita Bisht of Delhi Acers said players adapt to changing point structure in international tournaments. "For example, Ajay Jayaram won the Dutch Open 2014 in 11-point format and after two weeks, played in the 21-point format. They get used to it."
Olympian and former national champion Anup Sridhar of Awadhe Warriors said the shorter format benefitted certain players "who are attacking".
While chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said a couple of days ago that the 15-point format was the way ahead in international badminton, Bisht said it was the best.
PLAYING TODAY:
Mumbai Rockets vs Awadhe Warriors
Live on Star Sports 2 and 3 at 7 pm
KEY POINTS
A tie comprises Men's Singles, Men's Doubles, Women's Singles, Mixed Doubles and again Men's Singles
Matches will be best-of-three across 15 points
Trump Match will be decided 90 minutes prior to the start of the tie. A player can be nominated as a trump twice in the league stage and only once in the knockouts
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