After seven long years, Hockey India League (HIL) is set to be revived, with the auction scheduled in New Delhi from Sunday, October 13, 2024 to Tuesday. More than 550 players have registered to stand a chance to feature in one of the eight men’s teams when HIL kicks off in Rourkela later this year. (More Hockey News)
Over the next two days, each team will have a purse of INR 4 crore to pick players that have been categorized under three base price slabs: INR 2 lakh, 5 lakh and 10 lakh. The women's auction will follow on Tuesday.
The men's auction will include India captain Harmanpreet Singh and national team members Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sanjay, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Vivek Sagar Prasad and many more India regulars. Former India players like Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra and Dharamvir Singh have also registered.
Some international hockey icons eager to play in the revamped HIL are Arthur van Doren, Alexander Hendrickx, Gonzalo Peillat, Jip Janssen, Thierry Brinkman, Dayaan Cassiem, Tom Wickham, Jean Paul Danneberg, Pirmin Blaak, Jorrit Croon and Mats Grambusch.
The Delhi-based team, owned by SG Sports Pvt Ltd, has been named SG Pipers. Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi, who is the CEO of SG Sports, will be leading the team at the auction along with director of hockey PR Sreejesh, head coach Graham Reid and assistant coach Shivendra Singh.
The Tamil Nadu-based team, owned by M & C Property Development Pvt Ltd, will be called Tamil Nadu Dragons. CMD Jose Charles Martin will be representing the team along with Joseph Selvan, Rein Van Eijk and Charles Dixon.
Shrachi Sports Endeavour Private Limited has named the team based in Kolkata as Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers. Neeraj Thakur and Saurav Sikdar from Shrachi Sports Endeavour will be accompanied by Jagraj Singh, Romesh Pathania, Abhishek Sharma, Deepak Thakur and Adrian Dsouza.
The Hyderabad-based team, owned by Resolute Sports Pvt. Ltd., will be called Hyderabad Toofans. MD Alok Sanghi will be accompanied by Sidhant Gautam, general manager and team director Siddharth Pandey, head coach Pasha Gademan, assistant coaches Emily Calderon and Sanjay Bir, and scientific advisor Robin Arkell.
The team based in Lucknow, owned by Yadu Sports Pvt Ltd, has been named UP Rudras. Paul van Ass, Thomas Tichelman and Cedric D'souza will be a part of the coaching set up for the UP Rudras.
JSW Punjab and Haryana is owned by JSW Sports. Their team will comprise JSW Sports COO Divyanshu Singh, Arjun Halappa, Jeroen Baart, Sardar Singh, Michael Cosma and Srinivas Murthy.
The Odisha team is owned by Vedanta Ltd. Vedanta Ltd’s Sunil Gupta and Mansi Chauhan will be joined by Kariappa B, David John, and AB Subbaiah in the team.
Team Gonasika, which is based in Visakhapatnam, will be headed by Tarini Prasad Mohanty.
“The Hockey India League is taking its first steps as a revamped league and we are excited to see it take off after years of planning and hard work. We have an unprecedented number of players taking part in the Auction, which shows that fans and players alike have been longing for the league to return. The Hockey India League is going to be a huge success and we cannot wait to see the players don their jerseys and take the field,” Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said.
HI secretary-general Bhola Nath Singh also weighed in, saying, “All preparations are in place for an edge of the seat Auction tomorrow. A huge number of players are set to go under the hammer in the next few days and I wish all the best to the players who have registered themselves for the auction. We hope to see some formidable teams formed in the next three days.”
Each team will consist of 24 players, including 16 Indian players (with a mandatory inclusion of 4 junior players) and 8 overseas players.
Hockey India League Player Auction Schedule
13th Oct, 2:30 PM (Men’s Auction)
14th Oct, 10:00 AM (Men’s Auction)
15th Oct, 10:00 AM (Women’s Auction)
Hockey India League Player Auction: Live Streaming, Telecast Details
The Hockey India League Player Auction will be broadcast on the DD Sports TV channel in India, and live streamed on Hockey India League's newly-launched YouTube channel all over the world.
