The Hockey India League, or HIL, will make a grand comeback this December, leaving behind the seven-year hiatus it had suffered. And to kick-start the action proper, the player auction took place in Delhi over two days.
Eight men's teams were booked in the tournament, and the teams did make the most of their INR 4 crore purse in chalking out their squads with a stern balance between talent and experience for the edition of HIL that is likely to take place.
The biggest catch from India was the captain Harmanpreet Singh, snapped by Soorma Hockey Club for a whopping Rs 78 lakh. The second-most expensive buy was Gonzalo Peillat of Germany-a world-class drag-flicker and the most expensive foreign player after Hyderabad Toofans snapped him up for Rs 68 lakh.
Delhi SG Pipers has strengthened its strong lineup with Argentina's Tomas Santiago and Pawan at goal, while among the defence are Jarmanpreet Singh and Rohit. Plan is to harden their defense first and then bring on the attack, featuring forward players such as Tomas Domene and Nicolas De Kerpel. From the state of Odisha, the Kalinga Lancers have made heavy investments and brought on board goalkeepers Krishan Pathak and Tobias Reynolds-Cotterill from Great Britain.
The same is also true for the Hyderabad Toofans who put together an influential squad that contains Jean-Paul Danneberg from Germany, with the responsibility of guarding their citadel as the goal keeper, and Gonzalo Peillat in charge of the defense. Their midfield and forward lines are just as impressive and boast talent that oozes out in the forms of Nilakanta Sharma and Shilanand Lakra, pointing towards a holistic team plan.
Hockey India League 2024: Full Squad of All Eight Teams
Delhi SG Pipers
Goalkeepers: Tomas Santiago (Argentina), Pawan, Adarsh G
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Rohit, Pau Clapes (Spain), Joginder Singh
Midfielders: Shamsher Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Willott KY (Australia), Ankit Pal, Christopher Ruhr (Germany), Flynn Ogilvie (Australia), Jorrit Croon (Netherlands), Manjeet, Thokchom Kingson Singh
Forwards: Tomas Domene (Argentina), Nicolas De Kerpel (Belgium), Dilraj Singh, Aditya Lalage, Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Sumit Kumar, Iktidar Ishrat
Biggest Buy: Shamsher Singh (Rs 42 Lakh)
Hyderabad Toofans
Goalkeepers: Jean-Paul Danneberg (Germany), Bikramjit Singh, Vikas Dahiya
Defenders: Gonzalo Peillat (Germany), Matthew Dawson (Australia), Arthur De Sloover (Belgium), Devindar Sunil Valmiki, Amandeep Lakra, Sundaram Rajawat, Mukul Sharma, Akshay Ravindra Avhad
Midfielders: Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Zachary Wallace (Great Britain), Rahim Aakib Sayyed, Rajinder, Darshan Vibhav Gawkar, Maico Casella (Argentina)
Forwards: Shilanand Lakra, Timothy Daniel (Australia), Terrance Pieters (Netherlands), Arshdeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Irengbam Rohit
Biggest Buy: Gonzalo Peillat (Rs 68 Lakh)
Kalinga Lacers
Goalkeepers: Krishan Pathak, Tobias Reynolds-Cotterill (Great Britain), Sahil Kumar Nayak
Defenders: Sanjay, Mandeep Mor, Alexander Hendrickx (Belgium), Arthur Van Doren (Belgium), Antoine Kina (Belgium), Partap Lakra, Sushil Dhanwar, Rohit Kullu Midfielders: Aran Zalewski (Australia), Moriangthem Rabichandra, Enrique Gonzalez (Spain), Mukesh Toppo, Rosan Kujur, Nicholas Bandurak (Great Britain)
Forwards: Boby Singh Dhami, Dilpreet Singh, Thierry Brinkman (Netherlands), Angad Bir Singh, Roshan Minz, Gursahibjit Singh, Deepak Pradhan
Biggest Buy: Sanjay, Thierry Brinkman (both Rs 38 Lakh)
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers
Goalkeepers: Pirmin Blaak (Netherlands), Ali Khan, Atal Dev Singh Chahal
Defenders: Jugraj Singh, Hayden Beltz (Australia), Gauthier Boccard (Belgium), Rupinder Pal Singh, Tom Grambusch (Germany), Jasjit Singh Kular
Midfielders: Lachlan Sharp (Australia), Jaskaran Singh, Sean Findlay (New Zealand), Pardeep Mor, Pradhan Poovanna Chandura, Affan Yousuf, Atul Deep, Yogesh Malik Singh, Pardeep Singh Sandhu, Thounaojam Ingalemba Luwang
Forwards: Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Florent Van Aubel (Belgium), Sam Lane (New Zealand), Gursewak Singh
Biggest Buy: Abhishesk (Rs 72 Lakh)
Soorma Hockey Club
Goalkeepers: Vincent Vanasch (Belgium), Mohith H S, Jashandeep Singh
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Jeremy Hayward (Australia), Gurinder Singh, Nicolas Della Torre (Argentina), Sukhvinder, Ashu Maurya, Pradip Mandal
Midfielders: Vivek Sagar Prasad, Victor Wegnez (Belgium), Jonas De Geus (Netherlands), Harjeet Singh, Nicolas Poncelet (Belgium), Prabhjot Singh, Ankush, Sunit Lakra
Forwards: Gurjant Singh, Dayaan Cassiem (South Africa), Boris Burkhardt (Netherlands), Maninder Singh, Pawan Rajbhar, Harish Somappa Mutagar
Biggest Buy: Harmanpreet Singh (Rs 78 Lakh)
Tamil Nadu Dragons
Goalkeepers: David Harte (Ireland), Duco Telgenkamp (Netherlands), Prince Deep Singh, S. Senthamizh Arasu
Defenders: Amit Rohidas, Jip Janssen (Netherlands), Kothajit Singh, Moritz Ludwig (Germany), Anand Y, Anand Lakra, Pruthvi GM
Midfielders: Thies Prinz (Germany), Tom Craig (Australia), Mohd. Raeel Mouseen, Blake Glovers (Australia), Chandan Yadav, Shesha Gowda, M. Dhilipan, Arun J
Forwards: Selvam Karthi, Nathan Ephraums (Australia), Majji Ganesh, Uttam Singh, Abharan Sudev
Biggest Buy: Jip Janssen (Rs 54 Lakh)
Team Gonasika
Goalkeepers: Oliver Payne (Great Britain), Suraj Karkera, Kamalbir Singh
Defenders: Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Amir Ali, Birendra Lakra, Yogember Rawat, Timothy Howard (Australia), Dipsan Tirkey, Anmol Ekka
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Lee Moton (Scotland), Jack Waller (Great Britain), Jacob Draper (Wales), Mustapha Cassiem (South Africa), Yashdeep Siwach, SK Uthappa
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Jeroen Hertzberger (Netherlands), Araijeet Singh Hundal, Tom Boon (Belgium), SV Sunil, Nikkin Thimmaiah
Biggest Buy: Araijeet Singh Hundal, Manpreet Singh (both Rs 42 Lakh)
UP Rudras
Goalkeepers: Prashant Kumar Chauhan, James Mazarelo (Great Britain), Pankaj Kumar Rajak
Defenders: Lars Balk (Netherlands), Kane Russell (New Zealand), Surender Kumar, Marc Recasens (Spain), Priyobarta Talem, Sunil Jojo, Sharda Nand Tiwari, Prashant Barla
Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Floris Wortelboer (Netherlands), Seve Van Ass (Netherlands), Manmeet Singh, Jobanpreet Singh
Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Alvaro Iglesias (Spain), Tanguy Cosyns (Belgium), Gurjot Singh, Mohd. Zaid Khan, Sudeep Chirmako
Biggest Buy: Hardik Singh (Rs 70 Lakh)
