Rupesh and Sanave will play in IBL

Two days after hinting at a pullout after their base price was slashed at the Indian Badminton League (IBL) auctions, men's doubles specialists Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas today decided to compete in the franchise-based tournament.
"I spoke to Sporty Solutionz (commercial partner) and they said it was a mistake, that they didn't communicate to us. We decided to play and Rupesh has already spoken to Pune coach Nikhil. If we don't play it will be disrespect to the franchise, and it's not their fault," Sanave told PTI.
"We are three doubles specialists -- me, Rupesh and Arun Vishnu. There is Joachiam Fischer Nielsen from Denmark, who is a good mixed doubles player. We hope to do well for the team," he added.

After star women's doubles players Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa's criticism of the organisers for reducing their base price at the players' auction without informing them, Rupesh and Sanave had on Thursday complained of getting a raw deal.
Rupesh and Sanave had said that like Jwala and Ashwini, their base price also was slashed from USD 15,000 to 5,000 without their knowledge.
But a change in mind meant the two shuttlers will be part of the event.
"I have spoken to Nikhil Kanetkar and have told him about our participation," Rupesh said.
The duo, who were world number 13 at one time, have won the national doubles title for a record seven times from 2004 to 2010. They won Bitburger Open in Germany in 2010 and have represented India in international events such as Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.