PBL 2018: Awadhe Warriors vs North Eastern Warriors match preview, schedule and live telecast information

All eyes will be on Saina Nehwal as the Awadhe Warriors take on the North Eastern Warriors in Tie No. 8 of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) 2018 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Saturday.

The World No. 10 Nehwal could not feature in Awadhe’s last tie against the Chennai Smashers, which put paid to fans’ hopes of watching the much-awaited Saina Nehwal vs PV Sindhu clash in Guwahati. It was understood that Nehwal could not fully recover from a right ankle inflammation that had been bothering her for the last few weeks and had curbed her training.

The former World No. 1 did express her optimism of being available in all the remaining PBL 2018 matches of her team. It is thus expected that the 27-year-old will indeed play her first match of Season 3 against the 21st ranked Michelle Li of the North Eastern Warriors.

While the Canadian can be a feisty customer, it will be a good test for Nehwal and will surely make her ready for the upcoming blockbuster matches.

World No. 3 Srikanth Kidambi will be leading Awadhe’s charge in the men’s singles department. Barring a couple of hiccups, the Guntur-born ace put up a smooth performance against Brice Leverdez, which was very much reminiscent of his irrepressible form that gave him four Superseries titles in 2017.

There is a possibility of an exciting all-Indian clash happening in the second men’s singles match if Ajay Jayaram of the North Eastern Warriors plays against Parupalli Kashyap of the Awadhe Warriors. Jayaram has admittedly still not regained his 100% fitness after a hamstring injury cut short his season. He did turn up for the North Eastern Warriors’ first match but was rested in their second tie.

The presence of the Rio Olympic women’s doubles silver medallist, Christinna Pedersen bolsters Awadhe’s doubles. She and Tang Chun Man gave a winning start to the Lucknow franchise’s campaign in their opener and would like to continue in the same vein.

Here is all the information you need to know

Tournament name: Premier Badminton League Season 3

Venue: Siri Fort Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Date: Saturday, December 30, 2017

Time:

Awadhe Warriors vs North Eastern Warriors at 7pm IST

Channel: Star Sports 1/Star Sports 1 HD

Livestream information: Star Sports Hotstar

The squads:

Awadhe Warriors - Srikanth Kidambi, Parupalli Kashyap, Harshit Aggarwal, Saina Nehwal, Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka, Hendra Setiawan, Or Chin Chung, Tang Chun Man, Christinna Pedersen, Mahima Aggarwal.

North Eastern Warriors - Wang Tzu Wei, Ajay Jayaram, Pratul Joshi, Michelle Li, Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Kim Gi Jung, Chirag Shetty, Shin Baek Cheol, Prajakta Sawant, Sanyogita Ghorpade.