Hockey India to conduct HIL mini players’ auction on November 18

The inaugural auctions for HIL were a huge success along with the league

The inaugural Hero Hockey India League (HIL) auction was a smashing success. The league not only attained popularity, but provided a steady supply of players to the national team. The likes of Mandeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Gurmail Singh are some of them.

And after the stamp of success sealed on its first edition, preparations for the second edition of the Hockey India League is well and truly on. Hockey India – the organizers of the much-hyped league – will conduct a mini players’ auction in New Delhi on November 18.

It may be pertinent to mention that the auction for the second edition of the league is being held with more than two months to go for its start – it is slated to be held from January 23 to February 23.

According to Hockey India, the timing of the auction will enable all franchisees an opportunity to buy new players as well as replace existing players in their bid to complete their squads for the coming season.

The base prices for the players vary from $ 2,600 to $ 25,000.

The second edition of the Hockey India League will feature a new team besides the five participants of the inaugural edition. It is learnt that Odisha could be the sixth franchise to be involved in the league.

Around 154 players from hosts India and eight other nations were part of the HIL mini auction. This included 70 top domestic players and 50 international players who are part of the national squads of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Netherlands, Germany, Malaysia, Spain, and Argentina played for the five teams.

Among the 120 players who took part in the inaugural edition, 60 were Olympians.

The list includes winners of the prestigious FIH Player of the Year Award including Jamie Dwyer (2004, 2009, 2010, 2011), Teun de Nooijer (2003, 2005, 2006) and Moritz Fuerste (2012).