The Hockey India League Players’ Auction will take place in New Delhi on December 1, nearly five weeks before the Hockey India League is scheduled to start, Hockey India Secretary-General and Hockey India League Chairman Narinder Batra announced on Thursday.
Batra termed the auction a massive landmark in the sport’s history. “The HIL Players’ Auction will be a massive landmark in the history of sport since there has been no precedent in any league. It will give the six franchises the opportunity to bid for the best players and complete their squads. We have no doubt that after the Players’ Auction we will have six squads that can offer the fans highly competitive hockey,” he said.
The base price for the players varies from $3000 to $25,000. “The base priced for the players vary from $3000 to $25,000. Since the teams have a salary cap of Rs 3.5 crore each ($650,000), we are sure that all players picked will be delighted with the financial compensation they would be getting for playing in the league.”
Nearly 90 overseas stars and 150 Indian players have made themselves available for the HIL Players’ Auction. As many as 144 players will find buyers since each of the six teams will have a maximum of 10 overseas and 14 Indian players.
The inaugural edition of Hockey India League has already created waves of excitement in the hockey fraternity around the world, with players, coaches and technical officials expressing their eagerness to be involved.
The six-team tournament, to be played on a home-and-away basis, is scheduled to be held from January 5 to February 3. ESPN Star Sports will telecast the 33-match tournament, aimed to raise the profile of the sport in the country, live.