New Delhi, May 9: The much awaited lucrative Indian Badminton League (IBL), which offers a prize purse of $1 million, will be held across six major Indian cities Aug 14-31.
The finals will be held in Mumbai Aug 31 while Hyderabad and Bangalore will get to host the semi-finals.
New Delhi will host the grand opening ceremony of the IBL, featuring international and national star-cast, Aug 13, followed by the first round rubbers slated for Aug 14-15.
The six franchise-based city teams featuring in the first edition of the IBL are: Hyderabad HotShots (Hyderabad), Rajdhani Smashers (Delhi), Mumbai Masters (Mumbai), Karnataka Kings (Bangalore), Pune Vijetas (Pune) and Lucknow Warriors (Lucknow).
Badminton Association of India (BAI) president Akhilesh Das Gupta said Wednesday: "The preparations for the Indian Badminton League are in full swing. I'm confident the IBL Opening Ceremony will be a breathtaking extravaganza with the whole world watching it live.”