The Governing Council of Hockey India League has decided to defer the Hockey India League Players’ Auction by a fortnight to December 16 and the start of the Hockey India League to January 17 and conclude on February 17.
Hockey India secretary-general and Hockey India League chairman Narinder Batra said the decision was made in the best interest of hockey since some franchises are new to hockey and most of the coaches they were hiring were tied down with the FIH Champions Trophy in Melbourne and would not be able to take part in the Players’ Auction set for early December.
“After the HIL Franchise Workshop on Saturday, the Governing Council decided that it would be in the best interests of all concerned to defer the Auction so that all teams could have the best minds available to them at this important stage of team formation. It became inevitable that the start of Hockey India League also be deferred by a few days,” he said.