Just like Saina, Bengaluru Raptors ace player Srikanth took to social media platform twitter to announce his decision and reveal that he won't be a part of this year’s PBL as he needs focus more on international events.
"It's a tough road ahead. Need to go full throttle and fulfil the expectations that lie on me. Hence, I won't be playing PBL this year to focus more on international events. Wish @blr_raptors (Bengaluru Raptors) all the very best and hope for a smashing season this year as well," tweeted the former world no.1.
Srikant’s decision comes as no surprise as he has failed to attain victory in a major international title this year. Not only that, that ‘giant killer’ fell out of the top 10 in rankings for the first time in two years.
Many experts fear that international star shuttlers like Carolina Marin and Tai Tzu Ying might decide to give this year’s PBL a miss in the Olympic year as they are yet to confirm their participation.
With an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Srikanth will try to get in form when he gets on the badminton court in the Syed Modi International, scheduled to begin on November 26 in Lucknow.
Similarly like Srikant, Saina had confirmed on her official twitter handle that she would give this year’s PBL a miss. “Hey everyone, I won’t be part of the PBL Season 5 . I haven’t been well most part of the year due to pancreatitis and injuries and I would like to take time during the PBL to prepare better . I want to say sorry to all my fans and I hope to be part of the next season of PBL,” Saina had tweeted.