Premier Badminton League, aka PBL, is a team badminton league operating in India. It was launched in 2016 and is one of the top badminton leagues in the world. It features nine state or city-based franchise teams and the top Indian and international badminton talent. The league has reached an audience of more than 100 million through television, on-ground support, and social media. The league has hosted 5 seasons. In 2025, the Badminton Association of India revealed their plans to restart the league with a new name and a different format.
The first season of PBL was held from 2 to 17 January 2016. Delhi Dashers, formerly Delhi Acers, defeated Mumbai Rockets in the final to clinch the title. The second season began on 22 December 2016 and came to end on 14 January 2017 with the Chennai Smashers headed by P. V. Sindhu clinching the title in the finals. The third season began on 23 December 2017 and came to end on 14 January 2018 with Hyderabad Hunters headed by Carolina Marín emerging as the champions. Bengaluru Raptors won the last two editions in 2018–19 and 2020, becoming the only team to win the title twice.
Background Tournament format Teams play each other in round-robin format in league stage. Each team plays six ties in the league stage in which each tie consists of five matches. The matches played are two Men's singles, Women's singles, Men's doubles and Mixed doubles. Each of these matches are best of 3 games. Teams earn one point for each regular match win; in addition, each team must choose a Trump match, where a win is worth two points, and a loss subtracts one point.PBL to have Trump Match, best of three games for 15 points - The Times of India / Press Trust of India, 15 December 2015 After league stage, the top four teams in the table will qualify for the knockout stage. The winners of semi-finals goes into the final, in which the winner will be crowned the PBL champions.
Player auctions The player auctions are usually held at the end of each year for the subsequent season. Professional players from around the world enter the bidding where teams buy them. The league has helped players more than double their annual earnings from prize money in the year 2018. As per Danish player Victor Axelsen, this was a crucial part of their annual income. Each franchise has a purse of and the maximum a team can spend on a single player was in the most recent 2020 auction.
The fifth season auctions were held on 26 November 2019 in New Delhi. Each franchise had a purse of , and were not allowed to spend more than on a single player. The highest paid players were the Taiwanese Tai Tzu-ying and Indian P. V. Sindhu, both sold for the maximum amount of to Bengaluru Raptors and Hyderabad Hunters respectively. Indian doubles player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was the next highest, bought for by Chennai Superstarz. 2020 being the Olympic year, key players like Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, Carolina Marín, Victor Axelsen and others have decided to skip the season. Some of the players were traded between Mumbai, Chennai and Pune teams ahead of the season.
Teams Currently seven teams compete in the badminton league. Previously, there were nine teams, during 2018–19.Indian Badminton League Teams
Team City Highest Paid Male Highest Paid Female Home GroundHyderabad HuntersHyderabad Sourabh Verma P. V. SindhuGachibowli Indoor StadiumBengaluru RaptorsBangalore B. Sai Praneeth Tai Tzu-yingKoramangala Indoor StadiumAwadhe WarriorsLucknow Ko Sung-hyun Beiwen ZhangBabu Banarasi Das Indoor StadiumMumbai RocketsMumbai Kim Gi-jung Pia Zebadiah BernadetSardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor StadiumChennai SuperstarzChennai Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Jessica PughJawaharlal Nehru StadiumNortheastern WarriorsGuwahati Lee Cheuk Yiu Kim Ha-naKarmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor StadiumPune 7 AcesPune Hendra Setiawan Gabby AdcockShree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
Seasons Season 1 In 2016, the league was renamed from Indian Badminton League to Premier Badminton League, and still followed same format. This first season of the PBL started on 2 January 2016 and concluded on 17 January 2016. The four teams to proceed to the semi-finals were Delhi Dashers, Chennai Smashers, Awadhe Warriors and Mumbai Rockets. Delhi beat Chennai 4-3 and Mumbai Rockets beat Awadhe Warriors 3–1 to proceed to the final. Delhi Dashers won the tournament after beating Mumbai Rockets 4–3.
Season 2 The second season of the Premier Badminton League started on 1 January 2017 and concluded on 14 January 2017. It followed the same format as the earlier league, and the four teams to proceed to the semi-finals were Awadhe Warriors, Mumbai Rockets, Chennai Smashers and Hyderabad Hunters. Chennai Smashers beat Awadhe Warriors 4-1 and Mumbai Rockets beat Hyderabad Hunters 3-(-1) to proceed to the final. Chennai Smashers won the tournament after beating Mumbai Rockets 4–3.
Season 3 The third season of the PBL started on 23 December 2017 and concluded on 14 January 2018. Hyderabad Hunters were crowned the champions after they beat Bengaluru Blasters 4–3 in the final tie.
Season 4
The fourth season of the PBL was played from 22 December 2018 to 13 January 2019. In the fourth season Bengaluru Raptors took their first title after beating Mumbai Rockets in the final.
Season 5
The fifth season of the PBL started on 20 January 2020 and concluded on 9 February 2020. Seven teams participated in the season. Delhi Dashers and Ahmedabad Smash Masters did not participate in this edition. Total prize money of was announced by Sportzlive for the tournament. Bengaluru Raptors beat Northeastern Warriors 4–2 in the finals to win their second title. It was also their second consecutive title in PBL.
Editions and results Five seasons of Premier Badminton League have been played since the first season back in 2016. Here are the results. SeasonYear(s)FinalVenueTeams Winner Result Runner-up 1 2016 DetailsDelhi Acers 4–3Mumbai RocketsDDA Badminton and Squash Stadium, New Delhi6 2 2017 DetailsChennai Smashers 4–3Mumbai RocketsDDA Badminton and Squash Stadium, New Delhi6 3 2017–18 DetailsHyderabad Hunters 4–3Bengaluru BlastersKanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bangalore8 4 2018–19 DetailsBengaluru Raptors 4–3Mumbai RocketsKanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bangalore9 5 2020 DetailsBengaluru Raptors 4–2Northeastern WarriorsGachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad7
Performance table SeasonsSeason 1Season 2Season 3Season 4Season 5Teams66897Hyderabad Hunters6thBengaluru Raptors6th1st1stAwadhe Warriors5thMumbai Rockets8th7thChennai Superstarz6th6thNortheastern WarriorsDNE7th8thPune 7 AcesDNEDelhi Dashers1st6th9thAhmedabad Smash Masters†DNE7th 1stChampions2ndRunner-upSFSemi-finalistsTeam did not exist in the respective seasonTeam defunct†Teams that no longer exist
Notes Bengaluru Raptors was formerly Bengaluru Top Guns and Bengaluru Blasters. Chennai Superstarz was formerly Chennai Smashers. Delhi Dashers was formerly Delhi Acers.
Team squad
Delhi Acers Hyderabad Hunters Mumbai Rockets Awadhe Warriors Bengaluru Blasters Chennai Smashers Ajay Jayaram Siril Verma Prannoy H. S. B. Sai Praneeth Anand Pawar Brice Leverdez Rajiv Ouseph Parupalli Kashyap Gurusai Dutt Sourabh Verma Sameer Verma Sony Dwi Kuncoro Tommy Sugiarto Lee Chong Wei Ruthvika Gadde Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk Srikanth Kidambi Simon Santoso P. C. Thulasi Supanida Katethong Han Li Saina Nehwal Suo Di P.V. Sindhu Shikha Gautam K. Nandagopal Liu Zi Jie Vrushali Gummadi B. Sumeeth Reddy Sri Krishna Priya Akshay Dewalkar Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Manu Attri Cai Yun Tan Boon Heong Pranav Chopra Koo Kien Keat Markis Kido Chayut Triyachart Hendra Gunawan Koo Kien Keat Chris Adcock Tan Boon Heong Carsten Mogensen Vladimir Ivanov Bodin Isara Joachim Fischer Nielsen Toby Ng Aparna Balan Jwala Gutta Mathias Boe K. Maneesha Robert Blair N. Sikki Reddy Gabby Adcock J. Meghana Kamilla Rytter Juhl Christinna Pedersen Ashwini Ponnappa Pia Zebadiah Bernadet
Delhi Acers Awadhe Warriors Mumbai Rockets Hyderabad Hunters Bengaluru Blasters Chennai SmashersJan Ø. JørgensenSrikanth KidambiAjay JayaramB. Sai PraneethViktor AxelsenP. V. SindhuSiril VermaWong Wing KiPrannoy H. S.Sameer VermaSourabh VarmaArundhati PantawaneSon Wan-hoSaina NehwalShreyansh JaiswalRajiv OusephBoonsak PonsanaParupalli KashyapAakarshi KashyapRituparna DasSung Ji-hyunCarolina MarínRuthvika GaddeTanongsak SaensomboonsukNitchaon JindapolBodin IsaraVrushali GummadiSri Krishna PriyaCheung Ngan YiTommy SugiartoAkshay DewalkarGoh V ShemNipitphon PhuangphuapetSatwiksairaj RankireddyN. Sikki ReddyGabby AdcockIvan SozonovMarkis KidoMohita SahdevTan Boon HeongAshwini PonnappaRamya TulasiVladimir IvanovPrajakta SawantNadieżda ZiębaTan Wee KiongPranav ChopraB. Sumeeth ReddyJwala GuttaSavitree AmitrapaiChirag ShettyChau Hoi WahKo Sung-hyunChris AdcockK. ManeeshaAditya JoshiLee Yong-daeMeghana JakkampudiYoo Yeon-seongMads Pieler KoldingSanjana SantoshTarun Kona
+Ahmedabad Smash MastersAwadhe WarriorsBengaluru BlastersChennai Smashers Prannoy H. S. Saina Nehwal Viktor Axelsen P. V. Sindhu K. Nandagopal Christinna Pedersen Chong Wei Feng Aditya Joshi Kamilla Rytter Juhl Harshit Aggarwal Kim Sa-rang B. Sumeeth Reddy Tai Tzu-ying Hendra Setiawan Kirsty Gilmour Brice Leverdez Lee Chun Hei Srikanth Kidambi Manu Attri Chris Adcock Siril Verma Mahima Aggarwal Mathias Boe Daniel Farid Sourabh Varma Or Chin Chung N. Sikki Reddy Gabby Adcock Sri Krishna Priya Parupalli Kashyap Rituparna Das Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk Stefani Stoeva Sai Uttejita Rao Chukka Sanjana Santosh Vrushali Gummadi Law Cheuk Him Tang Chun Man Subhankar Dey Lee YangDelhi DashersHyderabad HuntersMumbai RocketsNorth Eastern Warriors Sung Ji-hyun Carolina Marín Son Wan-ho Wang Tzu-wei Arathi Sara Sunil Anoushka Parikh Arjun M. R. Ajay Jayaram Ashwini Ponnappa B. Sai Praneeth Beiwen Zhang Chirag Shetty Ivan Sozonov Lee Hyun-il Tan Boon Heong Ruthvika Gadde Pranav Chopra Markis Kido Gabriela Stoeva Kim Gi-jung Gurusai Dutt Pia Zebadiah Bernadet Tarun Kona Michelle Li Shreyanshi Pardeshi Rahul Yadav Chittaboina Kuhoo Garg Prajakta Sawant Tian Houwei Rasika Raje Lee Yong-dae Pratul Joshi Vladimir Ivanov Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Sameer Verma Sanyogita Ghorpade Wong Wing Ki Yoo Yeon-seong Sanyam Shukla Shin Baek-cheol
+Ahmedabad Smash MastersAwadhe WarriorsBengaluru Raptors Viktor Axelsen Son Wan-ho Srikanth Kidambi Anoushka Parikh Ashwini Ponnappa Mohammad Ahsan N. Sikki Reddy Mathias Christiansen Hendra Setiawan Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Lee Yang B. Sai Praneeth Lee Chun Hei Beiwen Zhang Mithun Manjunath K. Nandagopal Lee Dong-keun Lauren Smith Kirsty Gilmour Sanyogita Ghorpade Sanjana Santosh Vaishnavi Bhale Gurusai Dutt Marcus Ellis Liew Daren Rasika Raje Vũ Thị Trang Sourabh Varma Arjun M. R. Nguyễn Tiến MinhChennai SmashersDelhi DashersHyderabad Hunters Sung Ji-hyun Prannoy H. S. P. V. Sindhu Gabby Adcock Chai Biao Eom Hye-won Chris Adcock Wang Sijie Kim Sa-rang Rutaparna Panda Maneepong Jongjit Bodin Isara B. Sumeeth Reddy Evgeniya Kosetskaya Sai Uttejita Rao Chukka Saili Rane Tommy Sugiarto Lee Hyun-il Rajiv Ouseph Harika Veludurthi Arun George Parupalli Kashyap Vighnesh Devlekar Meghana Jakkampudi Or Chin Chung Chirag Sen Mark Caljouw Chong Wei Feng Lee Chia-hsin Rahul Yadav ChittaboinaMumbai RocketsNorth Eastern WarriorsPune 7 Aces Lee Yong-dae Saina Nehwal Carolina Marín Pia Zebadiah Bernadet Kim Ha-na Chirag Shetty Kim Gi-jung Yoo Yeon-seong Mathias Boe Shreyanshi Pardeshi Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk Vladimir Ivanov Sameer Verma Tian Houwei Line Kjærsfeldt Kuhoo Garg K. Maneesha Lakshya Sen Manu Attri Liao Min-chun Brice Leverdez Anders Antonsen Dhruv Kapila Sony Dwi Kuncoro Pratul Joshi Siril Verma Ajay Jayaram Anura Prabhudesai Rituparna Das Prajakta Sawant