Uncertainty loomed large in October after event partners Sporty Solutionz filed a petition against the Badminton Association of India (BAI) in the New Delhi High Court with regard to the tournament rights.

The following month, however, the BAI were given clearance by the High Court, which withheld the injunction that Sporty Solutionz had asked for.

The Supreme Court then agreed last month to let the BAI stage the PBL from January 2 to 17.

The petition was the second filed by Sporty Solutionz after the BAI terminated its contract with the IBL on April 21, with the first dismissed by the Delhi High Court on May 29.

With the debacle now at an end, pay-television broadcaster Star Sports has signed up as the title sponsor of the PBL.

Star Sports, which is already the PBL's official broadcast partner, plans to introduce several innovative broadcast initiatives to the league to improve viewer engagement. 

"The success of India's badminton stars internationally has led to the emergence of a passionate fanbase back home," said Sanjay Gupta, chief operating officer of Star India. 

"As a result, like kabaddi, badminton is now a sport that's very close to the hearts of Indian fans.

"The prospect of our home heroes facing up against the best the world has to offer in our own backyard was a prospect that was too tempting to pass up.

"Strategically, it also made the most business sense for Star Sports given our efforts."

The 2016 PBL consists of six franchises representing the cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Mumbai in a round-robin format prior to knockout matches.

The composition of each team is decided by a players auction, and must include a combination of male, female and junior players.

In an attempt to make this year’s tournament more action packed and exciting for fans, a 15-point game has been introduced with each match the best of three games.

Another rule modification will give every team the option of selecting one of their five matches in a tie as their "Trump Match", in which a victory would earn them a bonus point and a loss see them lose a point. 

"The 15-point games will make it more intense and small as 21 points in a game is too long," Hyderabad Hunters’ Parupalli Kashyap, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games men's singles champion, said.

"Most of the matches are now going for too long, more than one hour and more." 

The opening match of the PBL saw Lucknow-based Awadhe Warriors, led by London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist and 2015 World Championship silver medallist Saina Nehwal, suffer a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Rockets.

The Warriors bounced back, however, to beat the Delhi Acers 4-3, while the Rockets lost 4-3 against the Chennai Smashers in their second outing.

The Warriors and the Rockets currently share top spot in the team standings with five points apiece.

The inaugural edition of the IBL, based on the successful premise of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, was held in August 2013.

A second edition was initially due to run between September 30 and October 15 in 2014 but a hectic international schedule forced it to be pushed back to February 2015.

Due to the internal arguments between Sporty Solutionz and the BAI, it was once again shifted to April 2015 when the latter terminated its contract with the IBL.