PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and world champion Carolina Marin were the expected top buys at the Premier Badminton League season four auction, fetching the maximum price of Rs 80 lakh here. The unexpected one was rising doubles star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy who was the highest paid non-Icon Indian player with Rs 52 lakh.

With all players returning to the auction pool for the first time since 2015 and no Right to Match (RTM) card at teams' disposal, the exercise gained more significance with franchisees looking to get the combination right besides their ideal Icon player.