Sameer Verma, Hyderabad Hunters
The Madhya Pradesh-born lad has followed in the footsteps of elder brother Sourabh taking up badminton professionally. The 22-year-old has terrific wrists and is an excellent retriever despite not looking physically strong enough. Consistency has been an issue and when he gets it right, he can be more than a handful as witnessed recently in a stupendous run to the prestigious Hong Kong Super Series final, beating world number 3 Jan O Jorgensen in the semis. 2017 could well be the year where it all comes together for the talented Sameer.
Pranaav Jerry Chopra-Sikki Reddy, Bengaluru Blasters
Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra joined forces in 2016 to good effect. The mixed doubles duo seemed to have hit it off almost immediately as they have already won two titles in the year – the Brazil Grand Prix and the Russian Open Grand Prix. The Blasters will be hoping that Reddy, 23, and Chopra, 24, can make the mixed doubles matches their own in the face of tough competition with the likes of Chris and Gabrielle Adcock among others.
Siril Verma, Delhi Acers
The 17-year-old became the number 1 junior player in the world rankings in 2016 and was a part of the Hyderabad Hunters team last year. Despite playing only one game, he impressed many and will be hoping to get more opportunities this time. P Gopichand describes him as a ‘natural talent with his own style’ having watched him train at his academy since the age of eight. Siril is known to train with the more established players like Srikanth, Kashyap, Gurusaidutt etc. at the academy and his PBL stints should do him a world of good for his further development.
Satwik Sairaj, Hyderabad Hunters
All of 16 years of age, Satwik Sairaj is a doubles specialist part of the Hyderabad Hunters side. He did manage to create a flutter in the last edition of the PBL after he teamed up with Srikanth’s elder brother Nandagopal to rattle Delhi Acers’ much-favoured team of Tan Boong Heong and Koon Kien Keat, going down eventually in a tense three-set battle. With the likes of the highly-acclaimed Fernando Rivas in the coaching team, singles Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin and doubles Olympic silver medallist Wee Kiong Tan in the team, Satwik is sure to learn a lot from them and will be hoping to get more playing time on court.