The Hockey India League's long-awaited revival has been studded with a sizzling start to the player auction, which is currently unfolding in New Delhi. The opening day saw India captain and star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh being snapped up by Soorma Hockey Club for INR 78 lakh, even as eight of the top 10 buys were Indians. (Day 2 Blog | More Hockey News)
Other prominent acquisitions included Abhishek, who went to Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers for 72 lakh, and Hardik Singh to UP Rudras for 70 lakh. Among Indian defenders, Amit Rohidas was bought by Tamil Nadu Dragons and Jugraj Singh was off to Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers.
As for overseas players, Germany's Gonzalo Peillat was the most expensive buy, heading to Hyderabad Toofans for 68 lakh. Jip Janssen of Netherlands went to Tamil Nadu Dragons for 54 lakh. International goalkeepers too were in high demand, with Ireland's David Harte going to Tamil Nadu Dragons, Germany's Jean-Paul Danneberg acquired by Hyderabad Toofans and the Netherlands' Pirmin Blaak off to Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers.
Belgium's veteran keeper Vincent Vanasch went to Soorma Hockey Club while India’s new frontline goalie (post PR Sreejesh's retirement) Krishan Bahadur Pathak went to Kalinga Lancers.
The eight teams in fray will all end up with 24-member squads, aspiring to strike the right balance of goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards. As a rule, at least 16 of those 24 players must be Indian, of which a minimum of four should be junior players.
With more than 550 men’s hockey players registering, the first two days are focused on men’s teams, while the auction for the women’s squads will take place on the final day.
Hockey India League 2024-25: Full Squads Of All Franchises
Soorma Hockey Club
Dayaan Cassiem, Gurjant Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Harmanpreet Singh, Vincent Vanasch, Jeremy Hayward, Gurinder Singh
Team Gonasika
Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Oliver Payne, Suraj Karkera, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Jeroen Hertzberger, Amir Ali, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Yogember Rawat, Birendra Lakra
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers
Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Jugraj Singh, Florent van Aubel, Gauthier Boccard, Hayden Beltz, Rupinder Pal Singh, Pirmin Blaak
Tamil Nadu Dragons
Amit Rohidas, David Harte, Duco Telgenkamp, Selvam Karthi, Jip Janssen, Kothajit Singh
Hyderabad Toofans
Nilakanta Sharma, Jean-Paul Danneberg, Shilanand Lakra, Gonzalo Peillat, Sumit Walmiki
UP Rudras
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Hardik Singh, Alvaro Iglesias, Lars Balk, Kane Russell, Surender Kumar
Delhi SG Pipers
Shamsher Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Tomas Santiago, Pawan, Rohit, Varun Kumar
Kalinga Lancers
Sanjay, Krishan B Pathak, Dilpreet Singh, Boby Singh Dhami, Mandeep Mor
