Hockey India League Player Auction Live Updates, Day 1: Harmanpreet Singh Sold To Soorma For INR 78 Lakh

Midfielder Sumit is next up, and after a mini tussle, goes to Hyderabad Toofans for INR 46 lakh.

And the big fish is now in the market. India captain Harmanpreet Singh is on offer, and there is a renewed excitement in the room. The bids cross the 50-lakh mark with ease, and continue. And they overtake the 70-lakh mark set by Hardik too, as the franchises clamour for the star drag-flick expert. Soorma Hockey Club is in the lead at 78 lakh, and wins the battle. Harmanpreet Singh goes to the Punjab-based team for the highest price spent on a player so far.

Indian midfield mainstay Hardik Singh is up next. A bidding war has erupted for him and the amount crosses the INR 50 lakh mark for the first time in the auction. But the battle continues and the UP Rudras have the last laugh, buying Hardik for INR 70 lakh.

Vivek Sagar Prasad, who was India's vice captain in the recent Asian Champions Trophy title triumph, is on offer next. The 24-year-old is much sought after and ends up with Soorma Hockey Club for INR 40 lakh.

India forward Lalit Kumar Upadhyay is up for grabs now, and ends up getting sold to UP Rudras for INR 28 lakh.

Defender Sanjay is next in Lot 1, and he is snapped up by Kalinga Lancers, who have been acquired by Vedanta Limited, for INR 38 lakh.

Indian midfielder Nilakanta Sharma is next up and it is Hyderabad Toofans who make their first buy, buying Nilakanta for INR 34 lakh.

The high-profile Indian players continue to come out. Amit Rohidas, the backbone of India's defence and their star first rusher, is up for grabs now. Sure enough, the bids start flying and amid interest from Hyderabad Toofans and others, Tamil Nadu Dragons acquire Rohidas for INR 48 lakh.

Sukhjeet Singh is up next, and is much in demand straight away. It is now the turn of Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers to make their first purchase. They snap him up for INR 42 lakh.

Manpreet Singh is third in Lot 1. The former Indian captain is heavily sought after and post a series of bids, goes to Team Gonasika for INR 42 lakh.

Next up is Indian forwardline star Mandeep Singh. UP Rudras and Hyderabad Toofans initiate interest, but Team Gonasika snoop in and eventually acquire Mandeep for INR 25 lakh.

The action finally gets underway after all the teams being felicitated. The first player to go under the hammer is India forward Gurjant Singh, with a base price of INR 10 lakh. Bidding begins, and there is interest all around. The Soorma Hockey Club (Punjab) ends up buying him for INR 19 lakh.

The first lot of players to be up for sale on the auction will include India's bronze-medallists at the Paris Olympics. The creme de la creme of Indian hockey, including much-in-demand skipper Harmanpreet Singh and top players like Hardik Singh, Abhishek, Amit Rohidas will be part of the round. Stay tuned for the bids, which are coming up now.

Well-known sports anchor Archana Vijaya will be the auctioneer for the men's auction today and tomorrow. Arjun Pandit, a veteran sports presenter, will be leading the women’s auction on Tuesday.

As many as 400 domestic and more than 150 overseas men’s players have registered for the auction. 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. Read all about it in our report HERE.

The HIL auction begins at 2:30pm IST on Sunday, and will be broadcast on DD Sports as well as Hockey India League's newly-launched YouTube channel. The men's auction will continue till Monday, followed by the women's player auction on Tuesday.