Hyderabad: The Players’ Auction on Monday for the fourth edition of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League promises to be yet another glitzy affair with some of the world’s leading badminton players going under the hammer in New Delhi.

The auction this year will have an added significance with all players returning to the auction pool for the first time since 2015 with no right to match (RTM) cards for any teams as the league expands to nine teams with the addition of Pune Franchise.

Rio Olympic Gold Medalist and 2018 World Champion Carolina Marin, former world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen, Son Wan Ho, badminton legend Lee Yong Dae along with P. V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal are part of the 145 players listed from 23 countries to go under the hammer.

Earning himself the tag of ‘Icon Player’ for the first time based on his phenomenal track record in PBL, H. S. Prannoy will be in great demand as the teams would look to spend their maximum purse of Rs 2.6 crore in a bid to build a formidable unit.

The other players granted iconic status include Axelsen, Marin, Nehwal, Sindhu, Srikanth, Yong Dae, Sung Ji Hyun and Son Wan Ho.